Of Knights and Kings
by Cardinal Grief
Summary: He didn't know how he got here nor did he know why. All he knew was that people were suffering and he had to save them, even if he had to suffer for it.
1. Aktia

Sometimes he wondered when his life had taken a turn for the worse. As he reinforced his legs and jumped to avoid the claws trying to take his head off, he realized now was one of those times.

_`Was it when I stayed in school to fix the equipment Issei asked me to help with?´_

It had been when he had been pulled into the Holy Grail War and had been the catalyst for his chaotic lifestyle.

_`Although, my lifestyle had been pretty screwed up since I was five years old so was it the Fuyuki Fire that was the reason?´_

That had been the moment Kiritsugu had adopted him and set him on the path of a third-rate magus, but had it really caused him to fight a lumbering behemoth that looked like it belonged in one of Zelretch's pranks? No, it had to be something else.

_`At the very least, I know letting Rin convince me to examine the remains of the grail with her was a bad idea. Why didn't I just buy her the gemstones she wanted? Instead I had to be a cheapskate and distract her with Magecraft!´_

Stabbing Kanshou and Bakuya into the neck of the monster and severing the spine finally killed the damn thing and he was able to take a break, the first time since he started fighting the southern creature.

Just how the hell had his life taken a turn for the worse this bad?

* * *

_(Four weeks earlier)_

The first thing he saw when he woke up was blue sky.

The second thing he saw when he woke up was a horse trying to crush him underneath its hooves.

The split second he had to react was just barely enough and the massive animal missed his head as he rolled to the side. Some of his hair did get caught in the horseshoe, but he considered that to be a fair trade in exchange for his life. Hair could be regrown, his brain could not.

His sudden movement had however surprised the horse and the brown steed reared up in shock. Shirou did not stay on the ground to let himself get crushed to death by some random animal and jumped up to create some distance from it. Aside from the memories he had received from Saber, he had never seen a horse up close. If the horse thought he was a threat then it might attack him.

But where had the horse come from? He had never seen a horse around this part of Fuyuki before so someone must had brought it here and it had escaped. Could he use Magecraft to kill it? wouldn't someone think it was strange if he had somehow managed to kill a large horse with a sword that was nowhere in sight.

He couldn't let his thoughts distract him; he had to focus on getting away from the horse first.

"Hold it, hold it, boy! I said, HOLD IT!" A loud voice said, the last part coming out in a loud yell. At first Shirou thought the voice was weird since it was spoken with an accent he had never heard of, but when the horse calmed down and he saw the rider he realized he was mistaken. It wasn't just the voice that was weird, the owner of the voice was even weirder.

The first thing he noticed was the clothing. As a master in the Holy Grail War, he had seen a lot of different outfits and had developed some sort of immunity towards the different styles of outfits. From Saber's battledress to Lancer's skintight jumpsuit and Gilgamesh golden armour, the Grail War had shown him more clothing than he cared to remember, but he had never seen that particular outfit before. The rider wore clothing consisting only of white, from the furry boots on his feet to the shirt and robe he wore on his body.

That wasn't what you'd wear in Fuyuki city, not even in the outskirts of town where small farms which owned horses could be seen. Furthermore, Shirou had lived in Fuyuki his entire life apart from the thirteen months he had studied in London. He would know if someone rode on horses and wore ancient clothing, even if they only did it suburbs.

"Sorry about that, didn't see you when you were lyin' on the ground like that. I was lookin' for bandits so I was keepin' my eye on the horizon, ya know." The rider said, though the apology was hollow and forced, as if Shirou was the suspicious one. "Speaking of bandits, why were you lyin' on the ground like that? Some of the thieves around here act wounded in order to make caravans stop an' help them, you wouldn't happen to be one of 'em, would ya?"

Shirou heard what he said, but his mind didn't register the words. Instead all he could focus on was the sword strapped to the rider's back.

A sword he had never seen before. A sword he had never heard of before. A sword he was unable to categorize. It was slightly larger than Kanshou, but not as balanced . The blade was curved, but not like a katana or a sabre. It appeared to be of asian design, but he couldn't see the origin of the blade.

Why was there a rider wearing strange clothing and wielding a sword he couldn't recognize in Fuyuki? To begin with, where in Fuyuki was he? He didn't remember coming here in the first place, wherever this place was. The forest he was in was very hot to be the forest the Einzbern mansion was in the rest of the forests around Fuyuki were even colder. Had he been transported here while he was sleeping? Had he been attacked and knocked unconscious by an unknown assailant? It wouldn't be the first time someone had wanted to perform experiments on one of the surviving masters of the Grail War in the name of Magecraft everywhere.

His confusion must have been visible around his face because the rider spoke once more, this time in a more understanding manner. "What's wrong? Is something the matter?" He asked, a hint of worry creeping into his voice. The worry was probably not for Shirou though, considering his earlier aggressive attitude. He was most likely looking out for himself and a confused man acting like he had no idea where he was might lead to problems if he didn't handle it properly.

Shirou needed to come up with something. He had spent too much time trying to figure out what had happened and the longer he took the more suspicious the rider would be. Throwing caution to the wind, he spoke.

"Sorry, I'm a bit lost you see, took a nap on the ground and dozed off. Would you mind telling me where Fuyuki City is?" He needed to get back to his house and contact Rin. She needed to know about this.

"Fuyuki? Never heard of it, is it a large city?" the rider asked in response. Shirou frowned at the answer. Fuyuki might not be large enough to be recognized across the nation, but it was famous enough for the island it was on to know where it was, if only to the famous fires and gas leaks the city was known for. In other words, he was on another island in Japan or someone was playing a cruel prank on him.

"It's large enough, do you mind telling me exactly where I am?" He asked with trepidation. He almost feared the answer would be some faraway country where he wouldn't be able to contact anyone and he had to travel alone for months until he was back. It had happened once, when Rin had mentioned him in front of Zelretch.

It was probably the only time he had seen Rin apologize without any excuses. Probably because he hadn't demanded she pay any of the airline tickets he had bought in order to get back.

"What's that boy, ya don't know where ya are? You're on the fields of Kotia, the northern capital of Aktia!" the white clad rider said while laughing at Shirou's incompetence.

He really wanted to punch Zelretch in the face at the moment. That old bloodsucker had dropped him into a random country again, one he hadn't even heard of before. Dumping him into the middle of the Russian mountains with only a map was bad enough, he had no idea where Aktia was. How was he supposed to get home with now information of where he had was?

"And I don't suppose you would mind telling me where Aktia is? My geography is a bit rusty." He laughed sheepishly. He was so going to make Zelretch pay for this.

The rider stopped laughing and was once more eyeing Shirou suspiciously. Not knowing the city was bad enough, not knowing the country was wrong no matter how you looked at it. Shirou understood the man's feelings.

After a while the man spoke, but without a trace of humor. "It's an island nation west of Musta'sim and east of Reim. Ya know where they are, don't ya?" He said, dropping weird names like they were commonplace.

Musta'sim? Reim? What were those, cities? They couldn't be countries, right? His geography might not be the best, but he would know it those countries existed, wouldn't he? He couldn't be so ignorant as to not know the name of the countries close to each other. He must have at least have heard of the before.

The suspicious look in the rider's eye told him he was not going to like what he heard next.

* * *

Shirou moved restlessly in his makeshift bunk, the shock of what had happened being too much for him to shrug off.

He wasn't in a different country. He was in a different world altogether.

According to the Raj, the rider who had discovered him, Aktia was the country in the middle of the world and an important trading center for the western and the eastern countries. Raj was a merchant from the Kouga clan in the eastern land. Shirou had somehow managed to convince the man he had been kidnapped and managed to escape, but Raj still didn't trust him, even with Shirou's abysmal skill in hypnosis. That was to be expected though, as Raj had said something about bandits and thieves. Fortunately, Shirou had been allowed to tag along with the caravan until they reached a town as he doubted he would be able to get anywhere on his own.

Shirou was also starting to doubt it was Zelretch who had dumped him here. The old vampire was famous for playing pranks on people, but he would usually be innovative in how he did it. He had already played a similar prank on Shirou before and simply increasing the scale of the prank wasn't the old man's style.

So if Zelretch hadn't sent him here, who had?

He tried to remember what had happened, but his memories were like a fog of images. The last thing he truly remembered was getting off at the airport in Fuyuki and taking a taxi to his house. After that his mind became a blur and trying to recall anything became an exercise in futility. If he could find something that reminded him of what happened then he could figure it out, but until then it looked like he would have to take things slow.

A wind blew and he had to wrap the blankets around him even tighter. Even though it appeared to be summer, the nights around here were still cold it seemed. All Shirou wore when he arrived were simple jeans and a white shirt and jacket. It was fine during the summer days, but once it sank to below ten degrees Celsius it became too cold for comfort.

"Shirou, ya awake?" the gruff voice of Raj said. The accent the merchant had was odd, even compared to the rest of his Kouga companions. His accent sounded like it was from Osaka, but not quite. The other merchants had some kind of accent as well, probably something the Kouga had developed over the years, but Raj's was thicker and heavier. He probably came from a different place as the other Kouga members, a tribe with heavier accent.

"Yeah, what's wrong?" Raj had kept his distance from Shirou ever since they had met and Shirou understood why. The merchant didn't trust him and he had good reason not to. Shirou was a stranger who knew nothing about the country he was in nor about the world they lived in. It was abnormal and normal people didn't like abnormal things. If Shirou hadn't used his meagre skill in hypnosis to convince the man to let him travel with them then he would probably die, lost and hungry.

He had felt bad about using Magecraft on the man, but he really didn't have a choice. If he could follow the caravan to the nearest city then he could probably survive somehow, but in the wilderness in unknown lands he would perish without a doubt. He would find some way to make it up to the merchants, but for now he would try to make himself as useful as possible.

"Been wonderin', what are ya plannin' to do once ya get to Kotia?" the tall man asked. It was a good question, one Shirou did not know the answer to at this point. The only thing he owned at the moment was his clothes and the pendant Rin had given him. Even if he wanted to sell the pendant, there was no guarantee he would get a good price for it. He could make do as cook, but he had no idea how to start. His Magecraft might help him as a mercenary, but it wasn't the best of alternatives. He would have a better idea of what to do once he got to the town.

"Don't know really, I'm thinking of just making the best of what I find. Can't be too hard to find work, right." He answered, thinking about his prospects. A chef, mercenary and a handyman shouldn't have too much trouble to find work.

"In most cases I'd tell ya that way of thinkin' is naïve, but Kotia is a dungeon town so the city is sprawlin' with shops that need help. If ya keep your eyes open then you'll find work. But I just want to say that once you get to Kotia we won't have any connection to each other. I don't want to hear anything about ya don't want to leave us, ya hear!" Raj said firmly, in a tone that promised pain if he argued.

Shirou nodded, knowing there was no point in trying to talk back. To begin with, Shirou had used Magecraft to force his way into the caravan. It was a despicable tactic, one he had been forced to use more than ones while helping Clock Tower deal with dead apostles. The fact that using it had become easier with practice didn't make him feel better, even if he told himself it was to save lives.

"Don't worry, once we get to Kotia I'll be out of your hair. Unless you want me join you, of course." He responded with a smile. Raj didn't smile back, but he did respond with a little less hostility.

"Cheeky bugger, try not to die before we meet again one day. I'll give you a special offer on our merchandise; only twice as expensive as the other customers pay." He said with his usual gruff attitude and started leaving.

Shirou went back to trying to sleep, finding nothing but restlessness waiting for him. He kept thinking about how he was supposed to get by once he got to Kotia without the caravan to help him. Like Raj had said, it wouldn't be too hard to find a job in a dungeon town.

…

What the hell was a dungeon?

* * *

"So a dungeon, in short, is a place where you can get tremendous power and riches, but only if you survive the trials within?" he summarized what he had heard.

It was the day after he had been found and they had begun traveling to Kotia. According to Raj, the journey to Kotia would take a day if they didn't stumble upon thieves or bandits. When told that they needed guards for the caravan, Shirou had volunteered his services immediately as a way to repay his debt to the merchants. Raj had agreed to let him be one of the guards, but as a precaution he would have to ride with Raj and another Kouga clansman. The horse he was given was a pinto horse, as the Kouga called it. Its fur was both white and brown in a pattern similar to that of a cow's. While Shirou was struggling with learning how to ride, he had asked the head of the caravan what he had meant by dungeon.

The response had been something like: "Ya don't know what a dungeon is? Were ya dropped on ya head or somethin'?"

After an embarrassing rant about how ignorant he was, Shirou had managed to get the gist of it. Fourteen years ago, a mysterious building appeared out of nowhere and thousands of people had entered it in hope of discovering the secrets inside. Only a single child had returned alive, armed with the power of the djinn inside it and all the gold and treasures he could hope for. Several other dungeons had appeared since then and the same thing had happened, a single person returns with a mysterious power and treasures.

As a result, people are attracted to the dungeons like flies to a carcass. Whenever a dungeon appears, a town will soon follow. Aside from the gold the dungeon capturer gains, the economy of a country rises every time a dungeon is found. Most dungeons aren't cleared until several years have passed so each dungeon is brings a rise in a wealth for the kings in charge of the area. If a town or city is nearby a dungeon then the city will receive a tremendous boost in trade and inhabitants, making the town increase in size and work available.

Kotia was one such town. The dungeon that appeared three years ago had helped the small fishing village grow into a bustling trading empire, though criminals have increased exponentially due to the sudden expansion in such a short amount of time. Merchants who travel by land have to hire guards to make the journey without losing their merchandise or their heads. The Kouga clan was originally a collection of warriors so they could take care of themselves, but the journey had taken a toll on the travelers and they were grateful to all help they could get.

"That's right, but don't get any ideas, brat. Hundreds of thousands have tried goin' into those tower never to come back. If ya know what's good for ya then ya'll stay away from the dungeon, you hear?" Raj said. The white clad rider scratched his beard while he was looking up at the dark clouds gathering and increased the pace of his riding. "Tell the carriages to hurry up. I don't want to get caught by those clouds without shelter."

The rider next to Shirou nodded and yelled back a command to the ones riding the carts. The carriages increased the speed at which they were traveling and Shirou had to increase the speed at which he was riding as well. Going through the lessons Raj had given him before they started, he used his legs to make the horse go faster by squeezing them together. It worked and to his relief, he didn't fall down as soon as the horse picked up speed. He did however feel uncomfortable when the horse's and his own synchronization fell apart and his crotch met the horse's back in a repeated collision.

"Aren't there any better saddles than this one?" he asked Raj when he caught up to him. The caravan leader shook his head and sighed. Unlike the leather saddles made using wood and fabric the Kouga was using, the saddle Shirou used was nothing but a bunch of blankets sewn together to stay on the back of the horse.

"The horse you're riding was taken from one of the thieves we fought on the way here. We kept it in order to sell or eat it so we didn't keep the saddle. Be thankful that we wasted those blankets in order to give you a saddle at all." The reply was quick and without remorse, as if he had rehearsed beforehand. Shirou sighed, the growing pain in his thighs increasing his misfortune even more.

They rode for what seemed like an eternity before they reached the forest capable of sheltering them from the storm. By then, Shirou's legs felt like jelly and he almost fell off the horse while trying to get off. The rain started to fall an hour before they reach the forest and by now the sun had set. He was drenched and tired and his legs felt like he had tried to beat Berserker in a Sepak takraw match. The first step he took in over half a day felt like torture, though the pain and numbness from his legs made it hard to walk at first, he was just happy he didn't have to ride anymore. Poking at the different parts of his legs and gauging the reaction, he came to the conclusion that he would not be able to walk very well tomorrow if they continued with this pace.

"Shirou, tell Dalj to set up camp here. Get a fire started while you're at it." Raj's voice was quiet and he was looking at the forest with a wary eye. Was there something about the forest that Raj knew, but the rest of the group didn't? None of the other merchants were keeping an eye out for dangers, only Raj.

"What's wrong? You look like something is going to attack you. Have you been here before?" he asked the rough leader. Raj might not like him, but Shirou was not going to spend the night in a forest with an unknown danger lurking nearby.

"It's probably nothin', but… Kotia is Aktia's third largest tradin' city and this is the middle of summer. Why haven't we met any other caravans on our way here? Not a single traveler or anything besides you, it's too strange to be a coincidence. The roads should be filled with merchants arguing with each other in order to get to the city first, instead all we see is an empty road. I heard that the criminals around Kotia were numerous, but if they managed to stop every single caravan headed to Kotia then… we might have to turn back." He said grimly.

Shirou wasn't a merchant so he wasn't sure how much turning back meant for Raj, but if a merchant riding in a caravan along with twenty warriors was ready to turn back then it was safe to say that he understood the dangers of traveling. Still, did that mean the rest of the caravan would listen? Raj might be the leader, but he didn't have absolute authority over the group.

"I'll tell the rest to get ready in case anything happens. Do you need help with the first shift?" He asked carefully. Raj didn't trust him and he doubted the man would give him a job as important as guard duty. It didn't hurt to ask though.

"No, you make sure to keep the fire going. If I find out that the fire has gone out even once while I was away I'll have your head." With that, Raj and his two subordinates started their patrol around the camp, bringing out torches they had prepared beforehand to illuminate their way.

Going over to the Kouga clansman who had taught Shirou how to ride, he told the camp of Raj's orders. While most men immediately set up a perimeter, the women and the children started preparing the camp instead. They didn't ask him why he wasn't helping out with the patrols, the reason having been obvious since the start, they did look surprised when he started helping out with the dinner once he was done with the fire. Apparently men weren't supposed to cook in this world.

For Shirou it was a weird feeling. Back in his world, the traditional gender roles had been pretty much abandoned in large parts of the world. That was even more apparent in Shirou's household. Since Rin had been busy with her education, he had been the one to cook food and clean the house. The Archibald family had been quick to mock him for it, saying such things were a woman's task. The young man who had said it to his face had been forced to eat his words when the Lorelei Barthomelloi had heard him. Poor fool, he really should have known better than to say such things in the middle of Clock Tower.

As he started cutting the meat, he felt the stress of the day simply dissipating into nothingness. It had been such a long time since he had been able to cook proper food. Cooking was more than a simple hobby for him, it was therapy. All those nights he had been forced to fight unending waves of undead would have cost him a fortune in therapy sessions if he didn't food to help him deal with it.

"Excuse me, but may I ask what your name is?" one of the women around the campfire said. She was relatively tall for a Kouga from what he had seen, but aside from that she looked pretty much like all Kouga clansmen; light brown hair with braids and a kind face. She, like all Kouga, wore a white dress similar to a kimono, but with an opening by the legs.

"It's Em… It's Shirou Emiya," He corrected himself. He had noticed that the Kouga used their given name before their surname. If introduced himself like he would in japan then it would create confusion about where he was from. He didn't know anything about the customs here so he wouldn't be able to create even a fake excuse without making the others suspicious.

"I see, if it's not too rude of me, but are you a fanalis?" the woman continued with little pause. While the other clansmen had been wary of him and kept their distance, the second she asked him that question all the other merchants present stopped what they were doing and listened intently.

"A fanalis?" What was a fanalis? Raj had never even mentioned it before so how was he supposed to know? He had never heard the word before so he had no idea. Was it some kind of traveler? A person who travels the world without knowing where they are? Or is it someone who passes out on the ground at random intervals? That was what he looked like to these people so that must be what they thought he was.

Or was it some kind of country? Someone from a country called Fanal or something? Was he supposed to say yes or no? No matter what he said, it could have major repercussions. If he said yes then he would have to explain what a fanalis was and if he said no then he would have to know what it was as well. Either way he would look strange not knowing what it was.

His face must have shown some kind of expression because the woman backed away quickly and smiled. "It's okay, you don't have to answer. It must have been hard, with the slavers going after fanalis and all. I understand your hesitation, I would have a hard time trusting people if I was a fanalis and the slavers were after me." She smiled sheepishly, realizing her question was inappropriate.

Shirou on the other hand was merely glad he didn't have to answer the question. The initial crisis was over with him not having to give anything away, but it had raised several other questions. What was a fanalis and why did she think he was one? Why were the slavers after them? Did slavers really exist in this world? Would the slavers think he was a fanalis and go after him? So many questions were brought up in his mind and he had no idea how to answer any of them. It made him feel like he was back in the Holy Grail War, but this time he didn't have Rin here to help him.

Once he got to Kotia he might be able to get some answers. As it were, Raj was already suspicious of him and if the caravan thought he was a thief they might kick him out. Maybe he would be able to win them over with his cooking skills. Sakura had always appreciated his cooking…

The sound of an arrow cutting through the air alerted him to the attack. Grasping the small knife used for cutting meat, he turned around and barely deflected the projectile. The serrated arrowhead chipped the knife's edge, but the momentum it carried disappeared and it bounced harmlessly onto the ground.

The women and children didn't notice what had happened at first, but once they saw the arrow lying on the ground they reacted surprisingly fast. The older boys drew small daggers from their belts while a few of the women used small swords in a stance that spoke of inexperience. It didn't look like they were used to fighting and had only been taught the basics.

He was about to trace Kanshou and Bakuya when he stopped. What if the people in this world hate magic? Would the attackers and the caravan band together to kill him if they realized he was a magus? This world might view magic the same way people did during the inquisition. If so, using Magecraft now would make him a bigger target, but if he didn't then the people who had helped him would be killed by the attackers.

His inner turmoil was interrupted by a voice speaking from deeper in the forest. "I wasn't expecting you to block that arrow. How did you do that?" the voice was delicate, but unmistakably male. Furthermore, it came from a direction other than the arrow itself meaning there were at least two attackers and one of them used a bow.

"It's common courtesy to introduce yourself before you go on to attack others, you know. It's rude to do otherwise. Unless you're going for the ambush-approach, then it's acceptable." Shirou responded. As he expected, a few snickers and laughs were heard from different directions. He didn't want to take any action before he knew how many there in the forest. If he knew on a rough estimate how many enemies he would be dealing with then he could make a strategy on how to defeat them. If he made them laugh then he would be able to guess the location somewhat before he attacked.

"What do you expect? We're bandits, not heroes. Do you honestly think we'll introduce ourselves to out victims before we stab them to death? We'll be the laughingstock of the Kotia underworld." The voice said with humor in his voice. "But I do believe I asked you a question; How did you block that arrow?" he asked once more.

"I heard the arrow fly through the air. Whoever shot it must have been an idiot 'cause there was no way such a badly aimed arrow would have hit me." He answered with arrogance dripping from his voice. As he thought, the archer growled and notched another arrow.

"What did you say, you little shit?! Come over here and say that!" The man yelled with rage and Shirou didn't need to focus in order to deflect the arrow this time. The archer was obviously aiming at his head and the bow he was using was clearly on its last leg. The sound it made as he released it told him it wasn't being properly kept which probably meant there weren't any actual archers in the group. The second arrow bounced off the knife harmlessly and stabbed into the ground, missing him by a good three meters.

"Honestly, is this the best you can do? I was hoping for something more, I guess this is what you get for giving a dog a tool meant for men." He mocked the bandit, hoping the rest of the attackers would react to his taunts. Gilgamesh might have been a rude and disrespectful prick, but he sure knew how to push someone's buttons. Calling anyone a dog always got a reaction. The laughter and jeers the other bandits gave this time were plentiful and he was able to hear at least five voices in the mix.

"I'll show you who's a dog! I'll make you die like one!" The man screamed as he ran out of the darkness, a sword in his right hand. As he neared Shirou, he swung the blade in an amateurish move with all his might. The sword missed Shirou completely as he leaned back and he shoved the knife in his hand into the eye of the bandit. The steel blade penetrated the eyeball and continued into the brain, killing the man instantly.

The jeers stopped and dead silence ruled the forest. The bandits were most likely stunned by the turn of events as they had not anticipated one of their own being killed so easily. The Kouga clansmen had fallen silent as well, but whether from horror or surprise he had no idea. They seemed like they had never seen a man get killed before so he could understand their reaction.

"That's a surprise, Dolf was a moron, but I didn't' expect you to kill him so easily. Could it be that you're a fanalis?" the delicate voice asked in the darkness. That was the second time someone had mentioned the word `Fanalis´ in less than ten minutes. Were they really that famous? Maybe he could use these people to find out a bit more about the world he was in?

"What makes you say that?" he responded.

"Aside from your inhuman reaction to the arrow we shot at you? There was the fact that you killed Dolf like he was nothing, just like how the fanalis are gifted with superhuman strength and speed. Your hair is also that stunning shade of red that the fanalis have. At first I thought you were some human from the Kou Empire, but it appears I was mistaken. You are a fanalis, right?" he asked and Shirou could sense some kind of emotion in his voice.

Wait, fanalis were gifted with superhuman strength and speed? What kind of idiot would try to attack someone like that? If he was a normal human he wouldn't want to fight a person with a reputation like that, He'd lose in an instant. Could he use that to his advantage?

"If I say yes, will you leave us alone? You won't be able to take me on with just arrows and swords. If you leave now then I'll let you live." Then moment he insinuated he was a fanalis, the women and children behind the caravan looked at him in surprise and… hope? Were fanalis really that strong? Unfortunately the bandits weren't as fazed as he had hoped.

"Why would we do that? Your prices as slaves have just increased! We were hoping to sell the men as slaves as well, but they were so stubborn we had to kill most of them. Counting Dolf, whom you have just put down, we've lost over fifteen men today. Letting you go would mean losing three quarters of our forces with nothing to gain. I'm afraid we'll have to capture you to make up for it." The man said with excitement. He wasn't afraid to fight against someone clearly superior to him in physical abilities? That must mean he had some sort of strategy, a way to defeat a `Fanalis´ without dying while he was at it.

"You don't sound very angry at your comrade's demise though." Shirou noted. Had Raj and the others really been killed? Raj wasn't weak, but even he would be killed by an arrow to the back. If so, Shirou wouldn't be able to count on backup any time soon. The bandits were also making him uneasy, their disregard for their own friends was shocking. Most people would at least react to a comrade's death, even the heartless monsters in London would give a spiteful comment in case one of their own was killed.

"You mistake us for someone else, Fanalis. Bandits don't have strong ties to each aside from our common goal. After that they are simply someone you have to share the treasures with. Thanks to you and your friends, we don't have to share today's catch with anyone else. Thank you for your gifts, Fanalis." The mocking tone in his voice was reminding Shirou of Caster, the arrogance and confidence in was making him grit his teeth in anger.

"Unfortunately, I'm not a fanalis, but I'm more than willing to kill you if you try anything." It was the least he could do as payback. These people had helped him, a total stranger, and he hadn't even managed to pay them back yet.

"Don't get so cocky, brat, you're still more valuable than the common slave. Red hair is a rarity outside of Sasan and Kou, so you'll make me a very wealthy man yet." As he said it the archers at his side drew back their bows and the sound alerted Shirou to the assault. He ducked down to avoid the first arrow and picked up Dolf's discarded sword. It was slightly longer than what he was used to, but it would have to do. He didn't want to reveal his powers in front of anyone just yet.

Wielding the sword in his right hand and the knife in his left, he sprinted to the source of the arrows. The bows he had seen in this time didn't have the range or accuracy to be used from afar. It was most likely the bandits were closer than a hundred meters. He could easily close that distance in the time for them to fire another arrow.

He reached the first archer just as he was about to release the bowstring. A sword cleaving through the bow and his skull put a stop to that. Jumping away from another arrow, he saw two bandits trying to stop him with their own swords. Neither of them looked like they had received any formal training and they swung their swords haphazardly, missing repeatedly as he leaned back. Another arrow flew his way, but he kicked a bandit in front of it. The arrow penetrated the back of the criminal and penetrated his lung.

The bandit fell to the forest floor with a dull *THUMP* just as Shirou stabbed his sword into the chest of the second bandit. By now he was able to make out the movement of the second archer and he threw the knife in his left hand towards his target. The knife sank deep into the throat of the enemy and he collapsed, blood flowing from the wound.

He yanked the sword out of the dying bandit and looked around. He knew there were at least two more bandits, one of them being the speaker. None of the bandits that had attacked him had a voice as delicate as the speaker, even if they had only used war cries to speak with. The thing that worried him was why he was so certain the bandit was capable of catching a fanalis…

Something descended upon him, and he felt several rectangular shapes enveloped his head. He looked up just in time to see a net made of rope catch him. He tried to grab the net, but the ropes were far heavier and durable than anything it should be allowed to be. He used the sword to cut it away, but the blade didn't even begin to harm the thin rope. For some reason the net was able to withstand bladed weapons despite its appearance.

"I didn't think you'd walk right into our trap. Most fanalis are more wary of slavers since we know of their weaknesses. It appears we have very inexperienced fanalis in our grasp this time, Roga." The delicate voice spoke once more, this time with delight and excitement clear and overflowing.

"What do you expect? No fanalis can escape my magical net, no matter how powerful they are. Brute force won't help them." Another voice, this one harsher than the delicate bandit's voice.

Magical net? Were there magi in this world? Now that they mentioned it, he could feel a weak scent from the rope. It reminded him of earth and trees for some reason. Had they managed to buy the net from a magus? If so, they wouldn't mind if he evened the playing field.

"What did you do?" he asked them. If Magecraft existed here did that mean he could use his tracing without them ganging up on him?

"Roga is our magician, straight from the academy. He's been helping us gather slaves and killing the other bandits around here. We've been making quite the profit from our business venture." The delicate voice said as they emerged from the darkness.

The man with the delicate voice had black hair and brown eyes with no outstanding features. He looked like the average Joe who could disappear into a crowd with no trouble whatsoever. That kind of appearance would probably help as a bandit. It was hard to find or put a bounty on a criminal if he didn't have any special characteristics.

The magus, Roga, on the other hand had a huge nose and brown, bushy hair. The sneer on his face made Shirou hate him instantly. It wasn't quite on the same level of Gilgamesh, but it was close enough.

"Please, you give me too much credit. The garbage around this town wasn't even worth the magoi I used on them. What a waste of magic." The magus said, as if murdering innocent people was nothing. Shirou had seen plenty of magi who abused their Magecraft and the victims who suffered for it.

"True, but you have to admit; the money is good and the slavers are always happy when it comes to cheap slaves. It's not like the lord of Kotia is going to notice, he's too busy trying to contain the slums to do anything else." Vafer said, a grin on his face.

"Still, I was hoping for a challenge when he said he was a fanalis. To get caught by my first spell, are you a halfbreed? You're a little slow for a fanalis and your eyes aren't red. Don't tell me, it's even less? If you don't have the strength of a fanalis then your price will that of a normal human." He used his staff (who used a staff anyway?) and hit Shirou on the top of his skull.

"Who cares about that, as long as his hair is red then we'll get a nice price either way. Once we have enough cash, we can buy the entire slave trade of Kotia. This is just another step on the way since we don't have to share the cash with anyone else now." Vafer said with excitement, his grin spreading almost from ear to ear.

Shirou had heard enough. These people killed and kidnapped innocent human beings for their own gain. Not a shred of remorse or guilt in their eyes, even a magus at clock tower would be disgusted by their actions.

"Don't go spouting our plan off to anyone we catch, Vafer. These people don't need to know anything aside from that they are slaves now. Let's go, I'm hungry." He had been about to leave, but stopped when he heard Shirou speak.

"Trace on."

During his time in Clock Tower, Shirou had met with the only survivor of the previous Holy Grail War. Waver Velvet was a renowned professor and had agreed to share his memories of the previous war with Shirou. And the Noble Phantasms of said war…

"Gae Dearg."

The net containing Shirou was sliced away in a flurry of motions. The crimson spear, a two meter long polearm, cut through the net like it wasn't even there. The magically enhanced rope which had been too heavy and strong for him to destroy with mere physical strength had been rendered useless with the bladed weapon.

Both Roga and Vafer stared at the sight of their secret weapon rendered useless. The Crimson Rose of Exorcism cut through anything magical. A net reinforced by magic wouldn't be able to put any kind of resistance against the spear of Diarmuid Ua Duibhne. Shirou might not have trained extensively in the use of spears, but his reality marble could pick up the slack.

"I don't suppose you'll surrender nicely so we can avoid any more bloodshed." Shirou said, gripping the spear in a stance once used by the famous Irish hero. He was right as Vafer drew his sword and Roga fired a ball made of fire at him. The heat didn't even make him flinch as he cut the fire apart. He used the handle to block the sword aiming for his head and his fist stuck Vafer's jaw, breaking it. The bandit slumped to the ground, unconscious and Shirou turned to the magician.

Roga panicked and fired another fireball at him, but his fear made his aim deteriorate. The attack missed Shirou and crashed into a tree, scorching the bark. Shirou rushed forward in the paus between attacks and stabbed the spear into the shoulder of the magus. Roga screamed in pain, but Shirou didn't stop. He continued pushing forward, making Roga back up against the tree. Once his back met the bark of the tree, Shirou reinforced his limbs and used his entire body to shove the spear through the magus's shoulder and into the tree itself, pinning Roga to the wood. The blood red spear pierced the entire trunk and exited on the other side, ensuring the magus wouldn't be running away any time soon.

Letting go of the spear, Shirou looked around to survey the area. The bandits were dead, aside from the leader and magus, and the women and children were safe behind the caravan. Good, now he needed to talk to the bandits about where the remaining Kouga were.

"You're… you're a fucking monster!" Roga hissed through the pain.

"I don't want to hear that from you. You sell people into slavery and kill those who put up a fight, I can't imagine a more monstrous being than you." Shirou spat. He looked at the injury he had given the bandit magus. Maybe he had overdone it, but at the moment he didn't really care. Blood was flowing from the wound and colored the magus's white robe a pure red. Despite the grievous injury, it wouldn't kill him. The arm would be useless without proper medical attention, but the immediate blood loss wouldn't be enough to end his life. Shirou would be the one to kill him in the end. But before he could do that…

Roga flinched as Shirou's golden brown eyes stared into his own. "What is it?"

"Where are the people you captured?"

* * *

Five men.

After he had interrogated the bandit and the magician about their whereabouts and their information about the city, Shirou had forced them to show him their hideout. All the stolen goods and treasures the criminals had gathered had been stored in a common tent to ensure no greedy thief tried to take more than their fair share. The people Roga and Vafer had captured were also there and they were much less than what Shirou had hoped.

Only five men remained…

Those were the only guards the bandits had spared. There had originally been twenty-three warriors traveling with the caravan including Raj, but over eighteen had been cut down by arrows and traps. Even worse, one of the men had lost his eye in the conflict and it looked like it was going to get infected if they couldn't clean the wound.

Shirou had killed the bandits after they had been rescued. He didn't like killing people who had surrendered, but he couldn't let them go, not even to prison. According to Roga (Whom Shirou had asked nicely… at first), Vafer had bribed the judges and soldiers at the city to release them if they were ever caught. That way the soldiers had an extra income and the smaller merchants were removed from the more popular markets. A city only had so much room for salesmen and when the city was being crowded and bursting at the seams with new arrivals, a little extra cash and a little less population was appreciated.

There was also the fact that they both enjoyed what they did. They had made it their life to kill and steal, letting them go would only cause more death and despair. If Shirou had to get his hands dirty to save a few more people then he would bear that sin, even if it hurt him to do so. If he let them go and the next caravan was killed he would know it was his fault.

Speaking of caravans, he still needed to know what would happen to the company he was traveling with.

If Shirou traveled with them to Kotia then they would have six guards (five if you excluded the injured man) protecting seven women and five children. Considering that the leader of the bandits had said they had killed most of the other bandits in the area, the road would be relatively safe, but going into the city would be dangerous as well. Five wagons filled with merchandize with only six tired guards and a bunch of women and children guarding it would be a tempting target for even the most cautious of thieves. Raj had been on the verge of turning back because he was wary of the dangers, and although he had been killed by the bandits his decision should have been followed, but…

"We can't turn back now!" Dalj roared over the opinions of the rest of the caravan. "Our plan was to buy passage on a ship back to the plateau. There isn't another harbor nearby that won't take us weeks to reach and our supplies aren't enough to make it. We have to go to Kotia, it's our only option."

Dalj had been Raj's second-in-command, but his inexperience showed. He didn't have Raj's charisma or his intelligence so even though the caravan should have listened to his orders, the merchants weren't as willing to go along with his commands as he had hoped.

Not that Shirou knew any better in terms of people and their actions. He had been in this world for a day and the only people he had met had been the caravan and the bandits so he didn't have the knowledge to know what was right or wrong in this situation. He did know that an easy target was an easy target and bandits will always be bandits, but that wasn't enough for him to give his input. If he gave incorrect advice and the caravan suffered as a result, the guilt would haunt him forever. Though it seemed neither the merchants nor the warriors would be able to come to an agreement about this. Dalj had apparently wanted command for a long time and Raj had been in the way for that. If he returned to the village without money or wares and with most of the warriors dead he would never see a promotion again, or at least that what the women said.

While Shirou simply wanted to help those he could, he did have a personal interest in the town. He wanted to find a library and learn how to read the language. Raj had shown him a scroll with strange symbols on it and said it was the common language that all the humans on this planet spoke. How they managed to keep the common tongue without losing it to dialects was beyond Shirou, but he wanted to find out. Sadly, while his verbal understanding of the language was excellent, the written part was not so good. A library might help him with that part, but those only existed in large towns and cities. Kotia had a small library built thanks to the dungeon and it might be Shirou's last chance for a long time to learn how to read and write.

However, if it meant that the caravan would be put in danger then he would decline the opportunity. He still had to make sure they returned home safe and sound.

"Why should we risk our lives just to get to Kotia? If we ration our supplies and slaughter the horses the bandits owned then we'll make to the next town right?" One of the women asked. She flinched when Dalj turned to glare at her.

"We won't be risking our lives. We will hire mercenaries once we get there and we won't rest where bandits and criminal gather anymore. Besides, we have a fanalis with us, one that can use magic at that!" Dalj said confidently while waving his arm in Shirou's direction.

_`Crap!´_

All of a sudden the attention had been shifted in Shirou's direction and the combined might of eighteen stares pressed down on him. He shifted his weight onto his left foot and leaned against a tree as he tried to ignore the focus they had put on him.

He had messed up. He shouldn't have used Gae Dearg to cut the rope. Rule Breaker should have been enough to finish the job and the small dagger would have been easier to conceal than the large spear. He could have said he had hidden the dagger beneath his clothes in case of an emergency, but he could do the same for the spear. He had a two meter long spear, a spear longer than he was tall, concealed in his shirt and jeans? Not even the most gullible of fools would have believed that. Now what was he going to say?

_`I'm not a fanalis, I still don't even know what a fanalis is. And I can only use Magecraft, not magic.´ _He really wanted to say it, but the expecting look in their eyes told him that to do such a thing would break their hearts and hopes. They probably wanted to go home quickly and return to their families and the quickest way was through Kotia.

Disappoint them and make them go to the next town or help them to Kotia under the lie of being a `fanalis´ who can use `magic´? He hated lying, but he also hated disappointing people. He would help them regardless of what they chose, but what would help them the most?

What would Kiritsugu do?

"I'm not a fanalis." He said in the end. Trying to pass himself off as a fanalis without knowing what they were was just foolish. Superhuman strength and speed was too vague a description to go by and having red hair couldn't be that uncommon. As he expected, the looks he was given were filled with disappointment and despair. They must have thought they would be able to go home sooner rather than later. He could throw them a bone, right?

"But I do know a little magic, mostly about fighting so..." As soon as he said that though the hope was rekindled and the children could be seen with smiles on their faces. It made him happy, knowing he could help them a little using Magecraft.

"With that said, we'll be going through Kotia tomorrow." Dalj said confidently. The large man looked over to the warriors on one side and his face changed adopted an expression of thought. "We have to change the guard shifts as well. Six people can't guard the entire night all by themselves. We have to switch with a few of the women as well. Shirou, a word please?" As the rest of the group went back to cooking food and setting up a perimeter, Shirou followed Dalj to a corner of the camp. Once they got to a comfortable distance away from the camp, Dalj turned to Shirou.

"Before I say anything else, I just want to thank you for helping us back then. We would have been turned to slaves if you hadn't stopped the bandits. I have a wife and two kids back home who would have been devastated if I died." He said gratefully.

Shirou accepted his thanks with joy. If only he was shown this much gratitude every time he saved someone, maybe Archer wouldn't have turned out to be such a villain after all. No, that was wrong. Archer had been twisted into the brooding anti-hero after he had died and been forced to kill countless humans as a Counter-Guardian. Gratitude and kindness had little to do with the resulting heroic spirit.

"Don't mention it, I'm just happy to help." He smiled. Being thanked really did make him feel like he had succeeded somehow. Maybe Kiritsugu had felt like this at some point?

"Aside from that, there's something I want to ask you. Tomorrow when we reach Kotia, we'll be setting up shop in the south-eastern square. It's one of the shabbier districts and crime is pretty common around those places. As Kouga, we are usually seen as filthy and people try to take advantage of us. That's why we travel with so many soldiers around us, otherwise the men on the market might try something with the women. Since most of our men were killed tonight and we won't be able to hire as many mercenaries as we might need, I want you to stand guard in front of the shop. Can you do that?" the proud man asked. The fact that he asked instead of demanded it spoke about the man's ability to lead. Or perhaps it was the man's inability to lead which forced him to ask instead of demanding, but Shirou wasn't going to sweat the details.

"Sure, but do you think having me there might make a difference? I'm just one man, a man you've known for less than a day." He pointed out. He wasn't going to deny them the help that they sorely needed, but he needed to make certain they knew what they were asking for.

"I don't think you realize the fear people have of the fanalis. People aren't afraid of fanalis if they're slaves, but a free fanalis is something humans fear out of instinct. You might not know this since people may have mistaken you for a fanalis, however having a single human with dark skin and red hair is enough to warn criminals not to try anything stupid. If you show off your magic and it'll be more effective than having ten men with swords drawn." Really, were the fanalis that dangerous? The bandits didn't seem to be afraid of him, but that might be because they had a magus helping them out. Either way, it wouldn't hurt to try.

"Okay, I'll help you out. In case you need anything else, just let me know. I'll be happy to help you in any way I can." Shirou accepted with a smile.

Dalj smiled as well and he slammed his open palm into Shirou's back as he let out a loud laugh. "I knew I could count on you. If you ever find yourself on the Tenzan Plateau, come to the northern wolf-tribe. I'll get a feast up and running as thanks for all the help. Keep it up and I'll have to name my firstborn after you."

Shirou gave a weak laugh and ignored the stinging pain on his back from the slap Dalj had given him. Why were people so physical in this world? What happened to personal space and privacy? Half the time he spoke to Raj and the other clansmen he had to take a step back several time in each conversation because they kept walking closer. For a Japanese person who valued his privacy it was uncomfortably close to the point that he wanted to push them away sometimes.

"Oh, before I forget, wait here." Dalj motioned for him to wait as he ran to the wagons and disappeared. He came back a minute later, holding a bundle of cloth.

"It's tradition to send a warrior's sword back to his family after he dies on a battlefield, but Raj had no family and his sword would be given to some youngster if it was returned. The caravan was his family and you saved it. Raj would have wanted you to have this." He said as he handed him the wrapped bundle. Shirou took it with care. Unwrapping it, he saw a sword in its sheath and a red tassle was attached to the pommel of the hilt.

"Are you sure? I'm not a Kouga, shouldn't a Kouga use this sword instead?" He asked carefully. He didn't want to insult Dalj or Raj's memory. Dalj simply laughed once more in his face.

"Don't be modest, you're gonna need a sword tomorrow when you act as a guard and that sword will help people realize you're with us. It'll kill two birds with one stone." He once again smacked his hand against Shirou's back and he bit back a yelp. He could feel the bruise beginning to form already.

Hopefully these people would understand that he needed his personal space. He didn't think his back would be able to take much or of their `Friendly pats´.

* * *

Standing guard wasn't as hard as he thought it would be.

They had entered Kotia just hours earlier and while he didn't approve of the guards making a deal with bandits, he certainly understood why they thought it was possible. The entire road leading to the gates was overflowing with people to the point of getting in with a cart was almost impossible. People were pushing and shoving each other in an effort to get inside the city as soon as possible without regard to who they hurt in the process. Shirou had once stopped to pick up a woman who had been pushed to the ground, but the woman had pushed him away in order to get into the city faster. It had been a shocking experience, even for someone as experienced as Shirou. He had grown up traveling with the Japanese railway and the trains in japan aren't exactly known for being empty. Each time he got on a train, he had to put up with elbows and backs pushing into him in order for them to get to work in time. The trains had nothing on the crowd occupying the street though, not by a long shot.

Luckily for the caravan, Shirou's red hair and slightly darker skin seemed to scare the masses. A fanalis was known for being incredibly strong, so trying to get in the way of a caravan using one as a guard was not the brightest of ideas. Shirou's presence spread the large crowd like the red sea, giving the wagons free passage into the city of Kotia. Even the guards stationed by the gates were frightened by Shirou's menacing (friendly) expression. After that he would simply stand by the merchant's shop and keep an eye out for troublesome behavior. He had hardened his resolve when they entered the gate. That was when he was able to see the town for what it was.

His first impression of the town was that it had expanded too quickly.

The houses closest to the first wall were nothing more than hastily erected tents and houses made of clay. He could see the roofs of the buildings crack and some had even begun to collapse. As he saw more of the architecture, or lack thereof, he was able to determine that either the citizens had to build their own homes or they were forced to rely on builders who were too incompetent or stressed to do it properly. It reminded him of his trip to South America and the flimsy shacks the slums had been built with.

The dungeon, or at least what he assumed to be the dungeon, was a tower with several smaller cylinders pointing out of the main body. There were no windows and the surface of it appeared to be smooth with no blemishes. It was larger than he had expected and the shape didn't make any sense. Was there a reason for the design?

"This is the south-eastern square. Since the sea is on the north-western side of the town, the new buildings had to be built on the opposite side. Unfortunately, the city couldn't keep up with the increased population and the slums increased as a result. Each year the lord of the city orders a purge to remove the beggars and homeless from the older parts in order to make room for proper citizens. That's why buildings you see here are so shoddy, the purge was a month ago and the people who were driven from their homes have just settled here." Dalj said.

"Isn't it bad for the lord's reputation if the slums keep expanding? Wouldn't he want to decrease the slums and create a better city altogether?" Shirou asked, perplexed as to the reasons for it. Dalj simply sighed exasperatedly and pointed to the dungeon.

"He might if it weren't for that. The dungeon appeared three years ago and brought a bunch of wealth to the city. However there is a downside to having a dungeon appear in a small village, especially one that barely had a hundred people before. The lord might get rich from the trade and taxes, but he has to ensure the city grows at the right pace. Last time I was here, I think the slums made up for about half of the population. There is always plenty of work, but the pay isn't that good and the lack of educated people means only commoners can be employed. Take the tannery for example; two years ago the poor would be given work at the tannery with a modest pay. Now it's barely enough to feed yourself." He explained.

"With more arrivals every day, more work opens up which means people get paid. But the pay is so low that you need several jobs to feed your family. The only way for the situation to change is if the lord starts increasing the taxes on the richer parts, but trading is risky business and Kotia is in a precarious position. If the dungeon disappears then people won't herd into it as much, but not a single soul has managed it." Dalj said as he took a swig from his wineskin.

How did that make any sense? The dungeon had helped the village grow into a trading center, but it was also responsible for the increasing slums? In that case, the best way to help the town was to clear the dungeon. But if the dungeon was cleared then the trade would decrease. The city was stuck between a rock and a hard place where the solution was also the poison. Would the lord be able to increase the taxes then the slums would be taken care of, but the result would limit the trade they received and the total income would decrease as well. He was also pretty sure Dalj didn't know everything there was about the city, but he was just a merchant from another country after all.

"What will happen if the dungeon is destroyed?" A well-aimed Caladbolg could destabilize the tower and cause it to fall into the sea, avoiding the city and the harbor.

"Well, it would stop the people gathering in droves, but the trade might also lessen. But that's not why we're here. Look, the girls have finished setting up shop." He was right, one of the caravans had been turned into a

Stall with different wares lining the side. The women and the older children were talking to customers. The five remaining guards were standing nervously around the shop and were staring at anyone who neared the small wagon.

"I guess this is where I do my part. How long do you think it'll take for the day to be over?" Shirou asked the leader of the caravan. Dalj blinked and frowned for a second before he answered.

"Last time I was here we worked until the sun set, but we all took breaks and set up shifts. I reckon we'll be here until the sun sets or the customer stop coming." He answered, unsure of his own answer. Shirou simply nodded, he had simply wanted to know how he had to stay before he could go to a library.

"Got it, I'll take the first shift. You go talk to the others about arranging breaks." With that, Dalj left him to guard the shop.

It was a lot easier than he had imagined at first. He thought he'd be beating up bandits and thieves at every waking moment, but most customers were rather polite. They did stop to stare at his red hair quite often though, perhaps they didn't see a lot of people with red hair. In fact, most men and women had either black or brown hair with the odd blonde every now and then. His own red must have been something akin to an attraction. Compared to the other stalls on the street, most of the customers spent a lot of time inspecting his face and talking amongst themselves. It made him feel rather exposed, like an animal at a zoo.

It did help the caravan quite a lot, since most visitors did buy something. Even if all they bought was a simple necklace worth only single copper, the stall quickly emptied its wares. Other stall owners were looking at him with fury in their expressions, but it wasn't something he could avoid. His job was to make himself as visible as possible to scare away any criminals, but it looked like it had a second effect.

Still, as the second wagon was used to refill the stock, he couldn't ignore the feeling he was getting from the tall tower in front of him. The building couldn't be more than a kilometer a way, and the shop was set up that he was looking straight at it. The sheer architecture of the behemoth was mindboggling, enough to make him feel dizzy simply by watching it from a distance. Even by the standards of his world, a building such as that was impossible. To build such a thing using the skills and technique of this world's era was ludicrous, anyone who looked at it would feel so. Yet it had supposedly appeared out of nowhere one night without a single human waking up from the noise. Somehow he had a hard time believing it. Unless the creator was capable of true magic then he wasn't going to believe whatever they told him.

"Admiring the dungeon?" a smooth voice broke him away from his thoughts. Turning to the speaker, he was surprised by the person that greeted him.

It was a man with blond hair akin to gold which he kept in a long braid that reached his ankles. The man's face was incredibly feminine, to the point that Shirou first thought he was a woman. If it wasn't for the fact that the man had a shirt which revealed a lot of his chest, Shirou would have assumed he was speaking to a woman if he was only going by the voice and the face. The man's clothes were rather loose fitting and looked like mixture between a wizard's cape, hat and something you'd find the old men at Clock Tower wearing.

The man's eyes were the most peculiar thing about his appearance. Despite his sudden appearance and the fact that he managed to sneak up behind Shirou, he didn't feel at all intimidated by the man. His eyes were far too kind and warm for him to muster up any kind of hostility.

That, if anything, told Shirou that this man was dangerous.

"Maybe, maybe not. Can I help you?" Shirou asked the stranger. His hand twitched with the need for a sword and the blade on his back seemed to burn with desire to fulfill that need. The man seemed to sense his cautiousness.

"Ah, don't worry, I'm not someone suspicious. I simply saw your little shop and thought I could take a look at the wares." He waved his hand to show he wasn't armed, his other hand holding a rather odd staff. It looked like a… fishing rod?

"If you intend to buy anything then shouldn't you look at the merchandize? It's hard to decide on what to buy if you haven't looked at anything yet. I recommend the horse milk, it's great if you drink it first thing in the morning." Shirou said curtly. It was alarmingly hard to keep his guard up around this guy, every bone in his body wanted to relax and talk to him. It was the exact opposite feeling of meeting Kotomine. Every word the stranger said made him feel like he should trust this man unconditionally.

"Really? I'll have to try that then, it's been a while since I visited the Kouga. They always did have the most interesting food." The stranger smiled and Shirou had to fight the urge to smile back. What was happening? He wasn't a hostile person by nature and neither did the stranger appear to have ulterior motives. There wasn't a single scrap of negativity about him.

But there was still something that made Shirou think he was dangerous.

"Have you been to the Kouga before?" Was this man familiar with the Kouga? Then why wasn't he talking to the Kouga clansmen?

"It was a long time ago, but yes. I doubt anyone over there remembers me though, I hardly remember anything myself. How about you, have you ever seen the fields of the Tenzan Plateau?" he responded. The smile he wore on his face was almost bursting with innocence.

"I… can't say that I have, I just met the caravan a few days ago. A few things happened and they hired me as a guard." Shirou spared a look at the shop to make sure there weren't any thieves around. `Blondie´, as Shirou have decided to call him, could be a distraction meant to give the other thieves a chance to steal from the stall. A quick glance and all the customers who saw him shuddered. Good, his attempt to emulate Archer's glare had worked.

"That's a shame, the view is simply hypnotic. If you are ever near the area, take the time to have a look at the environment. I've always enjoyed the serenity it gives me, though the light and the open spaces tend to make me a little nervous." Blondie said with an awkward laugh.

"I… guess I will." The conversation was becoming awkward very fast. Shirou didn't know what to talk about since he was wary of the stranger, but it wasn't like he could simply ignore him either.

"So are you interested about the dungeon?" Blondie asked after a moment of silence. That did get Shirou's attention. It had been the first thing the stranger had asked him after all, why had he forgotten about that?

It was time to get some answers.

"I suppose so, it's the first time I've seen one after all. What about you? Fancy challenging the dangers for some extra spending money." Shirou retaliated. Blondie laughed at his question, a sincere and honest laughter. It had been quite some time since he had heard such a sound.

"I'm afraid not, I'm happy living my life as it is, travelling from place to place. Even if I return to where I started, so much time passes between that I have to experience it all again. Don't you think traveling is fun?" Blondie said in return.

"I haven't really thought about it. I usually only travel if I have work to do or my school tells me to, so I have never really taken in the sights while I'm at it. Aside from the food, travelling hasn't really interested me that much." Apparently that was the wrong thing to say because the stranger puffed his cheeks in anger and glared at him.

"What are you talking about?! Seeing new places, experiencing new cultures and making new friends, how can you not be interested in such things? Honestly, you are so unlike him it's stupid." The change in character was so odd and yet strangely fitting that Shirou lost his composure. It reminded him so much of Sakura when he did something stupid and she would scold him for it. The feeling was nostalgic to say the least.

"I'm… sorry? To begin with, what are you talking about? Just because we have different interests doesn't mean you have to lose your cool over it." The comment seemed to calm him down and Blondie adjusted his wizarding hat. His green, oversized wizarding hat. His green, oversized wizarding hat… with a feather and a ruby as decorations.

Was this acceptable fashion in this world? He wanted to say something, but the words wouldn't come out. To begin with, this entire world had different clothing so wouldn't Shirou be the one who looked strange? That was perhaps the reason Blondie had started talking to him, because they both wore strange clothes.

Blondie coughed into his hand to regain his composure before he focused on Shirou once more.

"Sorry about that, I was simply surprised by your personality. Although I have to say, I have decided what to do now." The smile was back now and Shirou was prepared for the effect it had on him this time.

"And that would be?" The slightest movement from Blondie and Shirou would have drawn his sword faster than he could blink. There was something about the man that Shirou couldn't out his finger on, but he knew it was dangerous.

Blondie's smile widened as Shirou's muscles tensed. "I have decided…" he began.

Shirou reinforced his entire body to the outmost limit, preparing himself for the clash. If he finished it quickly then the man wouldn't even have time to react. Not many beings could survive a severed head and the man in front of him was relaxed event though he knew Shirou was ready to fight. That meant he had a secret weapon, an ace in the hole.

Shirou wasn't going to let him use it.

"…That I want the horse milk." Blondie finished.

…

"What?" Shirou asked, dumbfounded. He was sure he had heard right, but…

"The horse milk, you said it was delicious in the morning. I get a bit cranky in the morning so having something tasty would be good, right? Those who drink well, grow well, that's my motto." Blondie said, smiling innocently.

Blondie had felt his killing intent, he was sure of it. He knew Shirou could have cleaved his body in two with a single swing of his sword and yet he had still acted without a care in the world. He wasn't an ordinary human, Shirou wasn't even sure he was a human at all. Was this entire world filled with people like him?

"I see, I guess you should talk to the owners then. Looks like they still have some milk left." He pointed numbly at the stall. He had geared up his entire body for a fight and now he wouldn't be fighting at all. It made his body feel sluggish, like he hadn't moved it in over a week and it had now been forced to run marathon.

"Thank you, I'll tell them you recommended it." Blondie started walking before he stopped and looked back. Shirou noticed his gaze.

"What? Is something wrong?"

"No, not at all. It's just… in case you're still wondering, the quickest way to help the slums would be to clear the dungeon. That way the city still has its trade and the new arrivals will decrease. Don't you think so?" Blondie said, his smile once more overflowing with kindness.

"Okay?" What did he mean by that?

"Oh, in case Asmodeus asks who sent you, tell him Yunan said hi. We're old buddies so he'll be nice, just try not to drink anything he gives you. He tends to offer the really strong stuff to new people." Blondie left, leaving a dumbstruck Shirou behind. Yunan, was that Blondie's name?

What an odd man.

After Blondie paid for the milk, he disappeared into the crowds covering the street. It was almost scary how fast he vanished.

"Shirou, did you know that man?" The woman from the night before asked him. Shirou shook his head in denial.

"Not at all, this was the first time I've seen him, why?"

The woman in charge of the stall pointed at the shop and said: "It's just that he bought all our horse milk and our herbal tea."

"Really? All of it? I didn't think he'd do that." Shirou said surprised.

"He also said you would pay for it." she said while shuffling her feet in embarrassment. At first he dind't understand what she had said, but his eyes narrowed in anger once the pieces came together

"He said what?" _`That slimy little thief! That had been his plan all along!´ _Shirou searched the crowd surrounding the market, but he couldn't see anyone with blonde hair. The rat had run away before Shirou could find out what had happened.

"Don't worry, I'll find him right away. Just give me ten minutes, no give me five. Give me five minutes and I'll have him here on his knees, begging for mercy." He wasn't going to get away with this.

"Actually, he said you could find him at Asmodeus." She shifted her eyes to meet his. "Are you really going?" she asked him, her face read with, was it embarrassment?

"Of course, how could I let him get away with stealing your merchandize? He has to pay you back, every single coin." Shirou said resolutely. The woman blinked in surprise and looked down on the ground.

"By the way, where is Asmodeus?" Shirou asked. He had sworn he had heard the name before.

She raised her arm and slowly shifted it to the tall tower in front of him. "There it is. That dungeon is called Asmodeus." She said.

Sometimes…

Shirou really wondered where his life had taken a turn for the worse.


	2. Asmodeus

Hello, what's up!? Cardinal here, bringing you the wonders of fanfiction. I didn't include a AN in the previous chapter because I was rather stressed and I made a few mistakes as a result. most of the mistakes were about the timeline. This story takes place **twelve years before** Magi: LoM and **two years after **Magi: AoS. It takes place a few months before the Musta'sim rebellion as well. As most of you can tell, the story is based on the good ending of UBW, but it becomes slightly AU after that. I didn't really reveal why he had traveled to Magi, but it will be revealed in a few chapters.

As for the pairings… I'm not sure what to say. I have a few pairing in mind, but some feel a little off. My favorite characters are: Morgiana, Kogyoku, Gyokuen, Hakuei, Dunya and Yamraiha. Morgiana feels way too young to be a pairing for Shirou since he'll be thirty by the time she's sixteen. Kogyoku might be possible, but it is still rather strange for me. Gyokuen is older than him and hot, but she's rather (Extremely) evil and it would be like Shirou getting together with a female version of Kotomine. Hakuei, Dunya and Yamraiha are old enough, but trying to figure which one should be with him is rather hard. For now I won't be making any pairings. It's too early to tell anything yet.

_SPOILERS!_

_When I wrote Asmodeus I thought I would stick to the stereotypical "Sin of Lust" image I had in the beginning, but it turned out rather boring writing her like that since Paimon already fills that genre. Instead I started writing her like a paradox. She represented sin in the bible, but I made her the Djinn of Enlightenment and Chivalry in the story. She was naked and vulgar, but her haircut and jewelry were refined (Aside from the nipple rings). The reason I chose her element to be Light was because I wanted Shirou's element to be represented as a knight. Because her entire representation was revolved around paradoxes, I made her powers and meaning as a Djinn a paradox as well. The word "Knight" sounds a lot like "Night" since it's pronounced the exact same way. "Light" rhymes with those words so I made her the Djinn of Enlightenment (Light) and Chivalry (Knight) and I made her dungeon revolve around knowledge (Enlightenment) and darkness (Night). It sounded a lot simpler in my head though._

_And Yunan is very childish in this story, but he's doing it for a reason. I'm not going to tell you why though._

* * *

"Are you sure about this, Shirou?" Dalj asked. "We don't need the money that much, if we increase the prices on our remaining stock then we can make up the loss."

"I'm sure, it was my fault to begin with. I didn't think he would use me as the distraction so I let my guard down. I'll make sure to get your money back." Shirou assured him.

They were in the outskirts of town, in the parts with guards enough to feel safe at night. After Dalj had been informed about the thief he had raged about how sneaky the blond had been. Once Shirou informed him that `Yunan´ was most likely a magus, he had mellowed out and become wary at the prospect of demanding the return of their merchandize.

Not that Shirou was going to let him get away with it. Not after the way he had been used as a way to lure the stall owners into a false sense of security. He was also pretty sure Yunan had used magic to convince the poor woman at the stall to sell him the goods. The Kouga knew Shirou didn't have the cash to pay for it all so for Yunan to convince them of otherwise spoke of Magecraft. Shirou didn't notice because his own skill in hypnosis was mediocre at best.

"But you don't know if you'll survive at all. It's better to let him go with some milk and for us to go on living. You don't even know if he'll be in the dungeon in the first place!" Dalj pleaded with him, telling not to go. Shirou was undeterred however and continued to put on the thin armour he had been given.

Dalj had, with some persuasion, given him armor to help him in the dungeon. It had belonged to one of the warriors who had been killed, but very little of it seemed to fit. The chest pieces were too large for him to even begin adjusting with the same of most of the helmets. To begin with, he had never worn helmets despite their usefulness due to the dangers he was usually up against. A helmet didn't do much if the opponent could fire hundreds of Noble Phantasms at you.

The only thing that seemed to fit him were the vambraces and greaves, which he actually saw the advantages of having. He could use his swords to deflect attacks from the rest of his body, but he couldn't protect his arms or his legs at the same time. He needed a good foothold while fighting and his arms held his swords so having that little extra protection might make all the difference.

He didn't need to mention that he thought it looked cool.

Even though the really wanted to say he thought it looked cool

"It's not about the money, Dalj, it's about the fact that he stole from you and he used me to do it. I can't let someone like that walk free without punishment. At the very least, I'll have him apologize to you in person, preferably in dogeza." He said with finality in his voice. He wasn't going to let Blondie get away with this, not as long as he was around to stop it.

"Dogeza?" Dalj asked, unfamiliar with the term.

"It's nothing. I'll be back in a few hours along with the thief. Tell the rest of the soldiers to try and keep order in case I'm late. I won't be long, I hope." With that he fastened the sling bag across his chest and headed out of the inn they were staying at.

The dungeon rose over the town like some massive tombstone, illuminated only by the pale moonlight. Did he have to climb all the way up to the top? If that was the case, it might take more than just a few hours. The food he brought in his bag would probably be eaten before he reached the top. He didn't want to think about the massive pain his muscles would be in if he had to climb nothing but stairs to reach it. Escalators might not be invented in this world yet, but since it was a magical dungeon there should be some kind of magical teleportation system. At least he hoped so.

Why had Blondie entered the dungeon? Why did he want Shirou to enter it as well? The possibility that it was simply a ruse to throw him off the trail was still there, but the percentage that being true was so small that it might as well be nonexistent. From what Shirou was able to understand about the weird traveler, he didn't have the personality to try and deceive someone like that. Yes he did fool the merchants into giving him the milk and the herbs, but he had an ulterior motive for it, to get Shirou into the dungeon.

What he didn't understand was why he did it. He didn't need to use Shirou as an excuse to steal the milk, if he could use magic then he could simply convince them that they should give it to him regardless. Instead he chose to give Shirou a chance to get him back for it. the fact that he knew what Shirou and Dalj had been talking about the dungeon made him even more suspicious.

Damn it, this whole situation was annoying! First things first, he was going to conquer the dungeon, then he was going to beat the crap out of Blondie and then he was going to make him pay for the milk. And then he was probably going to punch him some more if he didn't have a good excuse for what he did.

Shirou really needed to find some stress relief soon. He hadn't been able to cook anything since the day before when he had to split the chores between him and the women of the caravan. Chopping meat and onions was not enough to help him deal with stress!

He reached the dungeon quite quickly, his fury giving him more momentum each second. The guards who stood by the opening saw him and started talking to him.

"You need permission from the City's lord in order to enter the dungeon…" When he got closer and they saw his red hair and the scowl on his face, the guards stopped and froze. Good, he didn't want to fight innocent guards before he got into the dungeon. He wanted to save his anger for Blondie.

"If you want to wake up tomorrow without broken bones I suggest you move out of the way. I'm in a really bad mood." He growled and to his relief, the guards backed away. He took it as a good sign and walked towards the gate.

The doorway into the dungeon looked like a solid piece of stone. He was contemplating how to open it when he heard a strangely familiar voice behind him.

"You need to touch the door to open it, you know." Blondie's voice said. Shirou turned around, but a finger pressed into his back and he stumbled into the solid stone.

Or what looked like solid stone, but actually wasn't…

As soon as he touched it, the grey material shined with golden light. He tried to rip his hand away from the light, but it was stuck. No, it was pulling him inside. Something was dragging him inside the dungeon!

"You! What did you do?" Shirou asked the weird traveler, who merely smiled at his question.

"I was waiting for you to come, but you sure took your time. I figured you needed a push in the right direction. I'm going to pay for the milk I bought so just take your time and have fun!" Blondie said, still wearing that irritating smile of his.

"You son of a…!" he was unable to finish his insult to the offender's mother as the light dragged him inside and everything became white.

When the light subsided he couldn't believe what he was seeing. He could see the entire planet! Beams of light erupted from the earth and into the distant space. He could immediately tell that it wasn't Earth. The continents were much too different. He might not be the best at geography, but he knew enough to list all the continents. He couldn't see a single continent he knew from his own world.

Just as he was thinking that, one of the beams of light crashed into him and he blacked out.

* * *

Darkness.

If Shirou didn't feel the stones underneath him, making him groan at the uncomfortable position, he would have thought he was asleep. Darkness surrounded him, to the point that he couldn't see a thing no matter where he looked. It was different from the darkness he was used to, the absence of light. This _abyss_ was not the result of something created when there was no source of light, this thick and almost tangible void was the result of something devouring all that light stood for.

He sat up, hearing the crack of his spine as the disks moved for the first time after a long rest. How long had he been out? It couldn't be that long, he was a light sleeper after the Holy Grail War. It was hard not to with the threat of Caster's traps lurking in the back of his mind every time he went to sleep.

He heard something move and all thoughts of his long rest were thrown out the window. He was trapped in a dark abyss and he had no idea where he was. This wasn't the time to reminisce about events that happened a year ago.

He traced a short sword, a gladius to be precise. It had been a mystic code he had seen during his travels. An Italian magus had asked for assistance in eradicating an apostle infestation and had himself engaged the undead monsters. The gladius had been his weapon of choice. It had the simple ability of using Mana to encase the blade in flames hot enough to incinerate flesh in seconds. It couldn't shoot out flames further than a few inches away from the blade though so it was solely a weapon meant for close combat.

The blade erupted in flames and his surroundings became visible. Holding the impromptu torch in front of him, he could finally asses the dungeon. It was a cave, a huge cavernous coliseum with several caves lining the walls. The cave was made out of grey stone, similar to granite, but he could tell it had some magical properties. Specifically towards light.

The flames that encased the gladius were hot enough melt ordinary steel, the light it gave off should have illuminated the entire coliseum. But even though he was reinforcing his eyesight, he could barely see the other side. The stone was somehow absorbing the light instead of reflecting it back to Shirou. It didn't make that much of a difference, but it made him worry about the purpose of the stone. What could cause the architect to build a dungeon made of stone that absorbs light? There had to be an underlying reason for it.

But what was he supposed to do? Should he go through one of the caves? Judging by how many he saw on his side, there had to be hundreds of them. it was feasible for him to find the right one without assistance.

"Need some help?" Blondie's voice broke through the silence. Shirou jumped at the noise, surprised.

"What the hell? What are you doing here?" the oddly dressed traveler was standing near a large stone tablet near the middle of the coliseum. Shirou hadn't noticed it due to the poor visibility and the fact that it was colored the exact same as the entire cavern.

He was also floating in the air.

"Well, after I went to the inn to pay for the milk I bought earlier, I realized something. The first trial of this dungeon is a riddle written in Torran. What if you didn't know how to read the language? I asked the Kouga and they said you didn't know how to read or write at all. I was lucky you hadn't tried to go forward yet, it would have been a huge mistake." He said, bumping his fist against his head in a childish manner.

Somehow it just made him want to punch the blond nitwit even more.

"I see, you do realize I wouldn't have to go into the dungeon if you simply paid for the milk in the first place?" His grip on the gladius tightened as his anger returned with a vengeance.

"If I did that then nobody would have cleared the dungeon. It's been three years already and nobody has tried entering in over a year. I raised the dungeon in order to help the villager, but it grew too big too fast. Now I need someone to clear it before the city collapses, you know." Blondie argued.

He had raised the dungeon? Was he the architect behind it?

"Who are you? And what are you? There's no way a simple magus can raise this entire place all by themselves." He was dangerous. Too dangerous. Shirou had assumed he was some kind of magus, but this surpassed his expectations.

"I'm Yunan, a traveler. Although some people call me a magi, I prefer to spend my time traveling th world and seeing new sights." Yunan smiled, an expression of benevolence on his face.

Magi?

"What's a magi?" magi was the plural of magus. Did he mean magus and was simply unused to the language? No, every country in this world spoke the same language.

"You don't know what a magi is? What kind of traveler are you, to not know what a magi is?" Yunan asked him. For the first time since they met, Yunan was the one who looked surprised.

"A dumb one." Shirou answered.

Yunan frowned at his answer and Shirou felt a small satisfaction at the reaction. "I guess I have to teach you while we walk then, but first we have to solve the riddle, won't we?" he motioned for Shirou to approach the tablet.

The tablet was covered in strange markings, odd figures that Shirou had never seen before. Not that he understood the written language of this world either, but this looked to strange to classify as even a medieval language. It appeared far too ancient to be from even this age.

"The language of Torran is spoken by the Torran tribes all over the world. For some reason, it is used in dungeons to give riddles and clues. Have you seen them before?" Yunan asked. Shirou shook his head, he got to this world two days ago so his literature studies were a bit behind.

"I see, then it was a good idea I came here to help you. First of all, the riddle is the key to moving forward. Without deciphering the riddle, progress becomes impossible. Give me a minute." The blonde `Magi´ said with confidence.

While the strange man read the tablet, Shirou inspected the coliseum. It was huge, far larger than the tower had been. How was that possible? Were the laws of magic and magecraft in this world different than his own? Perhaps true magic was more common due to the primitive technology available. It still didn't explain how the beanstalk could raise this entire dungeon in a single night.

Did it have anything to do with the `Magi´-thing he was talking about?

Suddenly a scent caught his attention. It was sweet, almost overpoweringly sweet and it reminded him of cooking and food he used to make as a child. His first meal that wasn't burnt charcoal made by his father or Taiga, the first meal Sakura made for him when he injured his shoulder, the first time he cooked with the kitchen set Taiga had given him for his birthday.

_`Where is it coming from? It isn't emanating from the coliseum itself otherwise I would have noticed it earlier. It must be coming from one of the caves, but which one?_ He walked away from the tablet and took his torch with him, ignoring the "I'm still reading this, come back with the light!" Yunan gave him. He walked closer to each cave and sniffed for the source of the smell. If it didn't get any stronger he would leave to check the next one. After about five minutes of searching, he found the opening the scent was coming from.

As soon as he stood in front of it, he knew it was the right one. The aroma coming from the opening was overwhelming his sense of smell, making him breathe with his mouth to avoid gagging. Even though the smell in itself was intoxicating good, the sheer intensity was too much for his nose to take. He took a step back and inspected the entrance. At first it looked like a simple cave entrance, but at a closer look it was more than that. Each opening had a different theme. Some had small carvings of animals while other depicted different elements or plants. Each cave had its own theme and this one was not different. The entire opening was surrounded by carvings of various items. The sun, a lit candle, a bonfire, a torch as well as many other sources of light had been carved into the grey rock with excruciating detail. The flames form his gladius made the shadows dance and all the different depictions seemed to light up in a variety of colors. Wait, they did light up in a variety of colors!

"Hey Yunan, I think this is the right one." He yelled back at the `magi´ reading the stone tablet. The blond traveler looked up surprised at the declaration.

"What? I just solved the riddle, how can you be so sure?" he asked back as Shirou went to inspect the pictures.

The different carvings each had its own color. The sun was white, the candle was orange, and the torch was blue and so on. The entire entrance was illuminated in all the colors of the rainbow. As he moved the gladius closer to one of the pictures, the carving in question would shine brighter.

"So the stone absorbs light and these carvings release it in different wavelengths. What was the riddle?" he asked the stunned blond beside him. Yunan stuttered in response before he was able to compose himself.

"It… `Follow the path of self-guided light. Those who do not give will not receive, the light which is given shall show you the way.´ It meant that we should use some kind of light to let the rock absorb it and the right path will respond by… lighting up. Like that one just did. " He answered meekly, surprised by the speed at which he had found it.

"Huh, that's it? I thought it'd be something more… I don't' know, deeper?" Shirou asked Yunan uncertain. He simply shook his own head in response.

"This is the first level of the dungeon. It was merely a test of wit and intelligence. There weren't even any enemies here. Once we go through that tunnel we will probably find dangers waiting for us. Are you ready?" the oddly dressed magus asked, gripping his fishing rod… staff.

Shirou responded by drawing the Kouga sword with his right hand, illuminating the path ahead with his left. "If by ready, you mean ready to leave this place? Yeah, I'm pretty ready." Taking the first step forward.

Yunan smiled again the innocent and benevolent smile gracing his features once more. "So unlike Sinbad, and yet so like him at the same time. What an interesting man you are, Shirou."

* * *

The second level wasn't difficult either. The enemies they faced were some kind of anglerfish with a human shaped light attached to its fishing rod. Since the torch Shirou had illuminated the cave, the anglerfishes had nowhere to hide and were promptly put down.

The third level was also quite easy. The traps which shot out beams of burning light would activate if you stepped on the wrong floor panel. Yunan had some kind of magical barrier called a borg which stopped the beams and Shirou's reflexes helped him evade or block the attacks. Since the rays of light weren't _real_ light, the speed of the beams wasn't faster than he could react, but it did burn through his clothes a couple of times.

The fourth level… was not as easy as he had anticipated.

* * *

Spears of light rained down on Shirou and Yunan as they ran for cover. The ground exploded beneath them and they were pelted by rocks and dirt. The humongous giant made of white light which had been chasing them crashed beside the crater.

"What kind of monster is that?" Shirou yelled, deflecting another spear with Kanshou and Bakuya.

"Who knows, it's the first time I've ever seen one." Yunan answered, a smile on his dirty and bruised face.

Shirou cursed and traced Archer's bow, the materials used in creating it having been discovered months ago in his world.

_`Let's see if that thing can survive an explosive arrow to its face.´_

* * *

Each level after that point became more and more difficult. Each time they cleared a level, a bright light would teleport them to the next one. Whether it was to eradicate the monsters or to solve a riddle, the increasing toll it took on Shirou's body and mind was showing its results. Although the toll wasn't only from the dungeon.

* * *

"_Come one, just a bite! You brought enough for two, what's wrong with sharing?" Yunan whined melodramatically. _

"_I brought enough to last an entire day until you ate half of it. How can you still be hungry?" Shirou growled protectively over his food. The dried fruits had disappeared into Yunan's gullet before Shirou knew what had happened and he had fought to salvage what little bread was left. The blond beanstalk sure knew how to eat for someone so thin._

* * *

One would think that it was the monster levels that were the hardest to clear, but it was surprisingly the riddles that were the most troublesome. Since Yunan was the only one who could read the language, he had to be the one who read the riddle out loud while Shirou had to deal with the consequences if they guessed wrong.

* * *

"_I'm tall when I'm young and short when I'm old. What am I?" Yunan read out loud. "What do you think the answer is, Shirou?" _

"_Candl… Grhhagh!" yelled Shirou as he struggled to push the giant fire-breathing salamander off him._

"_Candy? I guess you're right, it does get smaller when you eat it. Alright, the answer is: Candy!" Yunan said as he pointed his wand at the door. _

_Shirou yelled in anger as another giant salamander, this one covered in ice, appeared as a result from the wrong answer._

"_The answer was candle!" He yelled at the blond magus as he dodged a hailstorm of ice._

"_Then why didn't you say so?" Yunan said confused while he tilted his head to the side._

_Screaming once more in fury, Shirou traced Caladbolg, ignoring the burning pain his circuits were in._

* * *

Finally, after hours of fighting, solving riddles and dealing with Yunan's charade, he had finally come to a conclusion.

Yunan was hiding something.

That was obvious considering he had for some reason made Shirou come to the dungeon when he had just as easily have removed it himself. Yunan had let that piece of information slip. When he had been explaining what a magi was, he had said a magi could summon and banish dungeons as they wish. If Yunan could summon a dungeon as he did with Asmodeus, he should have been more than capable of banishing it.

So why was he making Shirou clear it instead?

"It appears we're at the end." The feminine blond said with relief. The beanstalk had looked rather ragged the last levels and he was using his staff as a crutch.

"Yeah, I bet you we would have gotten here faster if you hadn't spent all that time guessing wrong at the thirty-fourth riddle." Shirou verbally jabbed the magi. Yunan had the decency to look ashamed.

"How was I supposed to know how many stairs there were in a one story house? You didn't read the riddle. `If everything is pink in a one story house, what color are the stairs?´, what a stupid question!" he grumbled and Shirou felt a smile tug at his lips. Yunan smirked when he saw the expression on his face and Shirou quickly erased any sign of the smile.

"So how do we open the door?" Shirou asked. There were two golden handles, but when Shirou tried to pull the doors open, the entire thing was as stuck as if someone had glued them together.

"The doors were designed to be opened by two people, a magi and his king candidate. It reads the magoi of each person and if the magoi is identical on both handles then the door won't open." Yunan explained. He walked towards the left handle and gripped it. As soon as his hand touched the handle, the overwhelming force which had been holding the doors closed disappeared.

In fact, the doors disappeared as well.

And the walls and floor and ceiling…

Everything around them vanished in an explosion of golden light. It became so bright that Shirou had to cover his eyes to protect them from the painful sight. When he opened them again, the surroundings had changed. Gone were the granite walls, gone was the thick, tangible darkness. Everything had been replaced.

By a large ancient city.

Shirou could tell. His Magecraft depended on Structural Analysis to function so of course he would notice. Even though he didn't do it willingly, his eyes had for some reason analyzed the city. The architecture didn't look that old, but the history recorded in the buildings told him they were centuries old. And they were all destroyed.

Everywhere he looked, he could see nothing but the ruins of a city which had long since been destroyed in a fierce struggle. He couldn't find the reason they had been destroyed, his Structural Analysis was more suited to swords and not buildings. But he knew that a battle had destroyed this city, a battle of magic.

It was the final straw that broke the camel's back. Up until now he had thought maybe he had some chance to find a way back or that maybe it was all a bad dream, but with this sight, with this scene of destruction he couldn't deny it anymore.

He was in an entirely different universe.

And he had no way of returning home, short of finding the Kaleidoscope.

"Are you alright?" Yunan asked. The blond man was looking at him with concern in his eyes. It was the first time he had seen him without a smile or a ridiculous expression on his face. Most of the time the blond would overreact to make a point, but he couldn't see anything but concern and worry in his eyes at this point.

"Yes, I'm fine, I'm just… surprised I guess. I wasn't expecting this, guess it was too much to take in all at once." He smiled, or he tried to. It was a fake smile, and a bad one at that. It was still better than showing what was really on his mind though, so he figured it would suffice.

"If that's what you say then I won't pressure you, but it think we should get a move on. This place still has enemies lurking sometimes so I think we should go as the crow flies." He said as he put his hand on Shirou's back.

"I don't think you're using that expression riiiiiIIIIIIIIIIIIGHT!" The last word turned into a scream as both Yunan and Shirou floated up in the air. Once they reached a certain altitude, they both took off in a beeline for the large temple-like structure, the only building in the city which remained untouched by the battle which had ravaged the city.

"You can fly?!" Shirou screamed at the magi. Yunan laughed at his panicked expression, but Shirou was too freaked out by what was happening to notice.

"Of course I can, any magician worth their staff knows how to fly. Whoever gave you those magical tools you use must have known how to fly as well." He answered, his face positively glowing with mirth.

"I'm pretty sure they didn't know how to fly!" Except for Caster perhaps, but Shirou never asked her how she did it. He wasn't on the best of terms with the Witch of Betrayal.

"Really? Then who was it who gave you all of those interesting tools. I haven't seen any of them before and I have seen a lot of things in my time. And where do you keep them? I haven't seen any magical bag on you." Yunan asked perplexed.

"I create them using my mag…ic." He had been close to say Magecraft, but he didn't want to reveal too much of his abilities. He still didn't trust Yunan, even after getting to know him for a few hours.

"You're a magician?" he said shocked. Was he really that shocked?

_`It's not like I hid my abilities that much. I've used Caladbolg as well as a ton of other mystic codes. I'm pretty sure it was obvious I'm a magus, although not a good one.´_

"I'm used to being called a magus, but yes. Why does it matter?" Shirou asked, having gotten over the initial shock and somehow regaining his composure.

"It does matter! You can't see the Rukh yet you claim to be a magician. You've been using all those magic tools of yours and yet your magoi isn't going down. A magician uses magoi and Rukh in their spells so what you said makes no sense whatsoever. Also a magician cannot use a metal vessel, but I can sense that you are compatible with them so you are by definition not a magician." Yunan scolded him, once more reminding him of Sakura. It was like watching a kitten frown, he knew it was supposed to be bad, but the laughter bubbling up in his gut was almost too hard to stop.

"I guess I'm special then. Just a heads up, we're almost at the temple-thingy." Shirou warned him. Yunan puffed his cheeks in what was supposed to be a scowl, but slowed down.

"It's not a temple-thingy, it's a real temple." He said, irritation leaking into his voice. They approached the large and heavy-looking door, but the doors opened by themselves when they approached.

The insides of the temple were rather extravagant compared to the city outside. The walls were made of stone, but were painted in blue and gold. The entire roof was a golden dome and he could see golden figures on the surface. In the corners and on the middle of the hall were large piles of stone items of different nature. Staves, swords, crowns, and other pieces of junk could be seen and he wondered if there was some kind of meaning to stone that he wasn't aware of. The stone in the dungeon was able to absorb light and the entire first level had been nothing but a huge coliseum made of rock.

Just as he picked up a small coin made of stone to inspect it further, the doors slammed shut with a loud *Bang*. He knew Yunan had been surprised as well because the feminine scream had not come from Shirou.

A light emerged from the center of the room and spread out to envelope the entire hall. The stone artefacts, which Shirou had presumed to be of ceremonial value, reacted with the light, revealing a gold shine. Gold emerged wherever the light touched and he was dumbstruck by the sight.

Gold, silver and precious gems littered the floor, like confetti after a party. The piles of priceless treasures had been haphazardly thrown together, as if the person had no idea of the true value of the items. Each treasure he saw looked more valuable than the one before.

"So I have been awakened once more? Very well, who has the guts to try and be my king?" A very loud and soft voice said. It was surprising to hear such a smooth tone at the volume it was being used so he was shocked by the sudden paradox. Spinning around, he saw the owner of said voice.

A giant woman sat in the center of the room. Her black hair flowed down her back in what looked like a hime cut. She wore a large variety of jewelry as well; a tiara in her hair, several golden earing and a pair of golden hoops, several golden bangles covered her arms and her nipples were pierced with golden rings. How did he know her nipples were pierced?

She was naked.

And she was blue.

As in, her skin was completely blue…

He had to blink several times and rub his eyes to make sure he was seeing things right. He had seen a lot of strange things; A weird female knight appearing one night to save him from a man who took his love for blue tights to a whole other level, Rin's true personality as well as her tendency to splurge on anything every time he treated her to a meal, a threesome with Rin and Saber (He was still recovering from the shock of that one) and fighting his own alternate future self. It was safe to say that his life the past two years had been filled with strange and shocking occurrences.

However, he had never seen a giant, naked, blue woman… with nipple piercings.

His life had really taken a turn for the worse hadn't it?

Though to be fair, she wasn't completely nude. She wore a red shawl over certain parts of her body, thankfully her crotch was once of them.

"It's been while hasn't it, Asmodeus?" Yunan asked with a smile. The woman, or whatever the Root she was, turned to Yunan and a surprised smile appeared on her gentle visage.

"If it isn't Yunan, what are you doing here? I heard my traps go off so I thought it was some weird adventurer, but to think it was you. If you had simply sent me a message through the rukh then I would have disabled them. It would have been faster that way and we could get started on drinking right away." The giant laughed. Yunan responded in kind, a nostalgic expression on his face.

"Actually, I'm not here to drink. You know I don't like alcohol so I don't know why you keep making me drink that stuff with you. The herbal tea I give you should be much better than that stuff." The blond magi happily replied. `Asmodeus´? Scoffed at his answer.

"That garbage? Bah, I throw that out as soon as you leave. A man needs to hold his alcohol, just because to have a girly face does not mean you can have a girly attitude. Man up and drink it like a man! Besides, your reactions are too funny to stop." The blue woman said while grinning like a cheshire cat.

"I thought as much." Yunan sighed. "Nevermind that though, I'm actually here for a reason, believe it or not. I brought a candidate with me." The fashion-impaired magi proclaimed.

Asmodeus blinked, then she looked around until her eyes locked onto Shirou's own.

"This little pipsqueak?" She yelled out loud, her harmonic voice still clashing at the tone of it. "I thought I told you, I want someone who's strong, tall and handsome. This little chibi ain't got anything of that!" She admonished the blond beanstalk.

Shirou's teeth started grinding together at the insinuation. Perhaps he wasn't the strongest of fighters or the most handsome, but he sure as hell wasn't short. Having had a growth spurt in London, he now stood at a respectable 180 cm. It wasn't the height of someone who could be called pipsqueak!

"The hell is that supposed to mean? Coming from a pervert who doesn't know the meaning of the word `Modesty´ means you don't have the right to insult anyone until you cover up!" He yelled at the blue giant.

Asmodeus's eye twitched in anger and she bent down until her nose was just a meter from Shirou. "Shut up, midget! If I think you're a midget then you're a midget, got it? And is that the attitude of someone who wants to be king? Show some damn respect, dumbass!"

The voice was so loud that Shirou ears started ringing, as if someone had rung a gong gong right next to his head, but he was too angry to notice. He had just spent the last eight hours escaping deathtraps with and idiot who was hiding something from him and the blue pervert was making it worse. He was tired, hungry and he really wanted to get this over with.

"Who cares about being a king, all I want is to get out of here and make this idiot apologize for what he did. I couldn't care less about you or what you want!" He roared in her face while pointing at Yunan, all the stress and tension disappearing from his mind as he did so.

Asmodeus looked at him, shocked at his reaction or what he said he couldn't tell, but the blinking and gaping mouth told him she was stunned. He felt a small satisfaction in his chest at her face, but he schooled his expression. He had gone a long way since he was that innocent boy in the Holy Grail War, but he still didn't like schadenfreude. Taking pleasure at other people's reactions might not be the same thing, but he would not become Archer. Making fun of her expression felt like it was something the Counter-Guardian would do.

Asmodeus glanced at the blond magi standing at the other side of the room only to receive a small smile in return.

"Alright then, I'll bite. What are you doing here?" she asked them both. "You said you brought a candidate, but he says he doesn't care about it. Something smells fishy."

Yunan laughed at the question, a good-natured laugh without a single shred of ill-will. "His name is Shirou Emiya and he was worried about the state of the town and I overheard the conversation. After talking to him a bit, I realized he would be a great king-candidate. So I tricked him into conquering the dungeon."

The fact that he somehow managed to make forcing Shirou to clear a fifty-something leveled deathtrap sound completely innocent was enough to make Shirou's jaw drop this time. Asmodeus seemed to share his sentiments.

"You tricked him? You don't trick people into conquering dungeons, you know. We create them to be dangerous in order to choose a proper vessel, not to satisfy you random desires." She said, poking Yunan's cheek with her delicately groomed fingernail.

"Well, since he's here and we cleared the dungeon, think you can make him your vessel? He's a really good kid, though perhaps a bit on the rude side." Yunan grimaced at the sharp object digging into his cheek.

"Oi!"

"I don't mind, the kid does have guts if the fact that he stood his ground against me was any indication." She said, ignoring Shirou's outburst at Yunan's description of him.

"Don't I get a say in this?" Shirou interrupted. Both Yunan and Asmodeus looked at him strangely before they both sighed.

"Listen, the only way to remove the dungeon is to conquer it. Yunan doesn't like to banish dungeons so he won't do it even if you ask him to." Asmodeus said, confirming Shirou suspicions, though he felt disappointed when she explained he wouldn't do it. "Also, do you have any idea what an honour this is? I'm Asmodeus, the Djinn of Enlightenment and Chivalry. I only pick the strongest of the strong to be my King's vessel so be quiet." Her tone had changed from that of a roaring volcano to a smoldering fire. It made him feel awkward again, his inexperience showing its effects. He could deal with point-blank anger, but the passive aggressiveness she was showing was difficult for him to defend against.

So he wisely shut up.

"Now then, as commanded by the nature of my being, I hereby acknowledge you, Shirou Emiya as my king and vessel and yada yada yada, contract complete." What started as majestic and elegant became rather rushed and boring at the end. For someone who looked so imposing and elegant (aside from her lack of decency), her sense of etiquette was severely lacking.

"As always, your decorum is as dreadful as Zagan's taste in men." Yunan added, barely able to hide his laughing.

"Don't compare me to that tree-hugger. I simply don't care about centuries old traditions that nobody, but we remember. Give me a bottle of booze and I'm happy!" she declared proudly.

"That's all fine and dandy, but can someone please explain what a king-candidate is and what it has to do with me?" Shirou interrupted before the situation could get out of hand. He didn't want to make her angry again, but he was feeling more than a little lost. Luckily, Yunan decided to take pity on his misfortune.

"Magi are meant to choose a king, a king is meant to create a country and lead the people and a djinn is meant to lend their power to the king. We decided that you are the one worthy of being a king, amazing right?" he explained. Shirou felt the words enter his skull, but the meaning behind them didn't register. King, as in king of knights, heroes and conquerors? They were joking, weren't they?

"What's that supposed to mean? A king, what makes you think I can be a king? Why would I want to be one anyway?" He asked the duo who looked at each other for a second before turning to him again.

"I think I might like this one," Asmodeus said. "He doesn't have the stick up his ass like most kings do. He reminds me of him a little bit."

"Him?" both Yunan and Shirou asked, before the blond continued.

"Don't pay it any mind, but I'm afraid we're out of time." The tall, blue woman said. As she said it, a light enveloped Shirou. "The time you can spend in the palace is limited because of reasons I don't want to explain. It's too troublesome, but it has to do with time-space or something. Anyway, try not to die before you learn how to use me, alright?" she waved him goodbye with a smile.

"I don't think we'll see each other for a while so good luck on your journey! Remember not to get too greedy with your treasures, spend it moderately. I'll wrap them all up nice and proper for you so it'll be easy to carry, alright." Yunan said with the tone of a mother hen. "They grow up so fast, don't they?"

Shirou was unable to respond with an appropriately scathing comment before the light covered his vision and he couldn't see anything else.

* * *

Dalj wasn't used to being nervous. He was a warrior of the northern wolf-tribe of the Kouga clan. He spat in the face of death and ignored the foolish sentiment known as fear. Over the years he had traveled the world and seen the many cities the countries had so unfamiliar territory was not enough to make him nervous.

To explain why he was nervous, it is necessary to go back a week.

_(A week ago)_

Dalj was no happy about the situation.

He had served under Raj for many years, but he had grown rather resentful of the man's stubbornness. He had wanted to replace the older leader, but he did not have the support needed or the ability to lead as he had hoped. When Raj had died he had been given command of the caravan, but he had soon realized he was in over his head. To make things worse, he had been given command in a land far away from his own and with a group full of women and children with only four warriors to protect them, excluding himself.

Then the fanalis had arrived. He said he was a normal human, that he had no relation to the warrior tribe of the Dark Continent, but a normal human or magician was not able to move as he did. He had crossed the distance between the bandits in seconds and then proceeded to cut them down like they were nothing. Even the magician who had captured them had proven to be powerless.

And he had magic.

He had shown Dalj some of his powers, the power to make weapon out of thin air. Dalj had asked him about it, in order to better plan ahead how to make use of the gift in a battle. Despite numerous complaints and orders, the fanalis had only shown him the spear once more, but he was sure the magician-fanalis was hiding his true powers. He might be a half-blooded fanalis, but his strength and speed was more than any human could boast to possess and he had magic to counter the magic of his enemies.

Dalj felt insignificant when he had to give the fanalis orders. Like the redheaded man could snap his neck at any moment and the only reason he was keeping him alive was because he had some use to him. Why else would he help the caravan so much in return for so little?

After all, no human could be as kind as he was without some kind of hidden agenda. Right?

So he the fanalis had gone to the dungeon, he had not known what to think. If the fanalis died in the dungeon then the caravan would be exposed. But the fanalis was dangerous as well, more so than any thief or bandit. Would he be able to take the caravan and pay for a ship to take them back to the Tenzan Plateau before he returned? It would take him days to reach the top, wouldn't it? At least that's what the rumors said.

But he knew the fanalis was aware of his home and birthplace. If the fanalis became furious at him for having abandoned him in Kotia, then the beast would follow him to the wolf-tribe. The blood of the entire village would be on his hands. Before the fanalis returned, he would have to ensure his family was safe. Raga and Toya could go to Raga's mother's tribe. They would be safe there, wouldn't they?

No, he couldn't risk it.

So if he couldn't run away from the fanalis, could he join it?

If it returned from the dungeon and found Dalj waiting for him, the fanalis would spare him and the caravan. A king's first vassals are his most valuable, or so the saying goes. The fanalis wanted to stay in the city to learn how to read while Dalj and the Kouga would leave for the plateau, could Dalj ensure one of the Kouga who could read would stay behind to aid him.

He turned to Flara, the woman who had spoken to the fanalis the most. "Flara, do you know how to read?" he asked. Aside from Dalj, Flara knew the redheaded beast the best.

Unfortunately the woman shook her head. "I'm sorry, but I can't. Raj and Loki were the only ones who knew how to read and they…" she stopped talking, her head held low. `Had died in the ambush´ is what she wanted to say, but it was tough to talk about the death of one's brother so soon after it had happened.

Damn, if the Kouga couldn't do it, they had to find a citizen of Kotia who could. The library was the obvious place to find one.

"Alright, I'm leaving. Tell the guards to rotate the shifts with the mercenaries we hired. They're from the Seven Seas-company so they have a good reputation." He said to Flara. The female merchant looked taken aback by his declaration.

"Where are you going? We still have a lot to sell." She responded.

"To the library, I have to find someone who can teach Shirou how to read." Hopefully they would understand the situation.

_(Three days later)_

Finding a tutor who didn't laugh outright at his request wasn't easy. Kouga weren't looked kindly upon in this region. Most people considered them to be nothing more than barbarians and slaves, something they had in common with the fanalis. After looking around for days he finally found a person willing to tutor a fanalis at a Kouga's request.

The woman who agreed was a young blonde girl, though it was hard to tell her true age. The expression on her face was one who had spent most of her time arguing and fighting, if the scowl on her face was any indication.

Still, she had apparently needed the money and she had demanded to be paid in advance, regardless of whether the pupil showed up or not. She would be staying in town for another month so he had that long to leave the dungeon or she would leave without teaching him anything.

Days passed and it looked like he wouldn't be coming back at all. Dalj had almost sighed in relief, but remembered he had wasted five gold coins for nothing. It was ridiculous how expensive these magicians are. She had only accepted the task after she had heard he was a magician as well, despite how baffled she was. _`A magician is trying to conquer a dungeon? Ha, what a fool!´,_ despite having said that she still took his money!

_(Present time)_

And then, the tower collapsed.

The impossible building which had been built in less than a night started crumbling to pieces right in front of his eyes. But even as the rocks and stones fell to the ground, not a single piece of debris struck the earth. Only the building itself was destroyed while the city was left unharmed. Where the dungeon had stood just a few minutes earlier was nothing but a huge hole in the shape of a circle.

And in that hole stood a man surrounded by gold and treasures.

A man with red hair.

While the man's clothes had been ripped and burnt, exposing muscles and sometimes scratches where blood still flowed, there was no denying the fact that it was the same fanalis he had met a week earlier.

Hopefully the man would like having a teacher…

* * *

The bed he was lying on was soft, warm and incredibly comfortable. The covers were made of some fine silk and smelled of lavender. He turned around and the exotic smell of oils and herbs entered his nostrils. Whoever washed the sheets sure knew how to make them smell nice, even in his own world it was hard to find a competitor for the scent he was being treated to.

The sun broke through the clouds and he felt the heat on his body. How long had he been sleeping? The sun wasn't supposed to be so high in the sky yet, or else his internal clock should have woken him up a long time ago. Had he really been so exhausted to the point of sleeping through the entire morning?

"My Lord, I apologize for waking you up so early, but I must insist you rise. The caravan you traveled with is about to leave and a man named Dalj has asked to speak to you."

Shirou's eyes opened and he sat up at the unexpected noise. At the end of the bed, a man stood in a low bow. He wore what appeared to be the soldier clothing of the higher class and was of average height. His eyes were aimed at the floor, but aside from Shirou there was not a single soul in the room.

"Are you talking to me?" Shirou asked confused. The soldier nodded before he rose.

"Yes, sir. I am Lokas, the captain of Kotia's armed forces. I and my personal squad have been assigned to your personal guards. Please, My Lord, wash and dress yourself and let us be on our way." He said before he left the room.

Shirou was flabbergasted. What had happened while he was away? Did he do something? Now that he thought about it…

_(Yesterday)_

_When the light faded, he was standing at the bottom of a large hole. All around him were bags the sizes of a horse, overflowing with riches. The cheering which came from above forced him to look up and he had to suppress a gasp._

_Hundreds and hundreds of people were standing at the edges of the hole, screaming and cheering at him. Why were they happy? Had he done something to make them rejoice like that?_

_Wait, he had cleared the dungeon, hadn't he? A lot of them were probably happy no more innocent people were going to die for the sake of glory and riches so of course they were cheering. Silly him._

_Getting the treasures out of the hole proved to be a challenge though since it involved him having to blast his way out using his bow and arrow, but everything turned out alright in the end._

"_Shirou, is that you?" He heard Dalj's voice ask through the cacophony of sounds. Just as he had thought, the tall man was standing just a few meters away from him, though he had changed a lot since they had last met. The Kouga merchant had grown a beard, or more like stubble, and there were bags under his eyes. How long had he been away? _

"_Yeah, who else could it be?" Shirou answered, happy to see a friendly face. He didn't want to judge, not after he knew what the city had been through, but he knew most of the people around him were trying to get closer to the gold he had gotten from the dungeon. He didn't mind sharing the treasures, but he didn't like thieves, regardless of whether it was his own property or someone else's they stole from. He had seen the expressions of the people around him, expressions he had seen Shinji wear by the end of the war. _

"_We thought you died in there. You said you'd be gone for a night, but it's been over a week!" _

_Huh? _

_A week._

_A week?_

_He had been gone for a week?_

"_I think we need to talk. Exactly how long did you say I was missing for?" Shirou asked, worry pooling in his gut. _

_The sad smile Dalj sent him did nothing to alleviate his worry._

_(Three hours later)_

_He sat down on the softly padded chair and felt his muscles sigh in relief. It felt like it had been forever since he had been able to sit down on something which hadn't been the stone floor or the dismembered limb of some strange anglerfish monster. Compared to the dungeon, the inn Shirou had decided to stay in for the night was a palace. It was the most luxurious hotel in Kotia and he thought he deserved to splurge a little. _

"_Are you sure no one was hurt in my absence?" Shirou repeated his question to Dalj._

_After Dalj had explained the circumstances to him, he had donated several sacks of gold to the slums, much to the surprise of the people present. Most of them rejoiced at the fortune while some of the beggars didn't believe their ears. Shirou had never believed people would actually thank him on their knees, watching an entire slum do it while crying was shocking enough to make his own knees tremble. The smiles on their faces made it all worth through._

_He had set aside a few sacks though, for special purposes. He still needed to repay the caravan for their hospitality and he needed to save up some kind of budget if he was going to stay in this world. He wasn't going to like being here, but until he found a way back home it would have to do. He had been lucky to be found by such a kind people, but he couldn't keep relying on them to take care of him. He needed to find a way to support himself before he could do anything else._

_The last sack of treasures was the one he had been adamant on not giving away. Unlike the other bags of riches, this one had a special characteristic. Mystic codes, or magical tools as they were called in this world. He had come to realize that magus and magicians were fundamentally different. He didn't know how different, but they most certainly weren't the same. Even if Shirou had travelled back in time and regained the power of magic, the still wouldn't be the same as the magicians of this world._

_This bag of magical tools made him certain of it. He had seen a lot of mystic codes in his time at Clock Tower, but these were special. He would take a lot of time to properly understand them, but he wouldn't give them away to anyone just like that. Some of these were dangerous if used improperly._

_Back to the question at hand though, Dalj had nodded at his enquiry "Yes, we used the money from the magi you followed and hired mercenaries to stay as guards. The extra sales you gave us also helped in clearing our merchandize away. Thanks to that, not a single item we sold went bad before we sold it." _

`Extra sales? Was he talking about the crowd I drew in as a fanalis guard? Imagine that, my red hair actually helped somebody.´ _Shirou thought happily._

"_I see… Well, I'm tired as heck so I'm going to sleep, is there anything we need to talk about before I go?" He could feel his eyelids drooping and the sweet embrace of sleep calling for him. _

"_Actually, we are leaving tomorrow." Dalj said cautiously. That statement woke Shirou up more than caffeine ever could._

"_What?" he sputtered confused at the sudden revelation. Dalj looked uncomfortable and averted his eyes._

"_It's been a week and our caravan doesn't have any wares left to sell. We sold out carriages today and we paid a ship to take us and the horses to the plateau. We didn't know if you were ever going to come back so we couldn't afford to stay any longer. Now you're here, but you have the tutor to help you with the language so you have to stay." He rushed the part about Shirou dying, probably ashamed over his thoughts._

_That's right, he had a tutor now. That meant they had to part ways. He'd be lying if he said he wasn't sad. Apart from the caravan and Yunan, he didn't know anyone in this world. To suddenly go their separate ways because of something so stupid was… just stupid. But he knew he had to do it, what else was he to do? The Kouga had to return to their village, asking them to stay would be selfish on the level of Gilgamesh. Going with them meant abandoning his desire to learn the language and discovering a way back home. If there was a way back home at all… He wouldn't be able to find it on a plateau Root knows where. _

_It still didn't make him feel better about it._

_A knock interrupted his wallowing in self-pity and directed their attention to the door. He wasn't expecting company and the look on Dalj's face told him he didn't know who it was either. Opening the door, he peered out._

_Two servants, both clad in the black and white cloth symbolizing their allegiance to the city's lord, stood outside. They were holding a chest made out of wood which looked quite heavy for the two rather thin women. The one on the right spoke while the other one kept her eyes on the ground._

"_Are we correct in assuming you are Lord Shirou Emiya?" she asked, careful to keep her eyes below his own in a sign of submission. He didn't know how to feel about that._

"_I… Yes, you are. May I ask why you are looking for me?" He responded, uncertain as to why the lord would want to send his servants to him. They could be assassins sent to remove a threat to his position, but he doubted it. The two women didn't possess enough muscles to take him on even two against one._

"_The city's lord, Jabra Salir, sends his gifts to the conqueror of the dungeon Shirou Emiya. He asks only that you attend the dinner party he is hosting tomorrow night. Should you decide to keep the gifts and grace the nobles with your presence, then wait here and we will return tomorrow afternoon to deliver your reply to the lord." The servant said with practiced skill. _

_How many times had they been forced to practice that speech in the last three hours he had no idea, but judging by the ease they said it he thought it must have been in the hundreds. Accepting the chest from the servants, he brought it into the room to open it._

_Both Dalj and he were rather curious it seemed because the merchant helped him open the rather heavy lid. Letting the top fall to the ground, he took a look at the contents. It was a surprisingly simple gift, for a lord to give. It was mostly clothes, different cloths made from white, blue and red fabric. He looked at the servants standing in the doorframe, waiting for an explanation._

"_They are clothes meant for you to wear at the party. Would you like for us to show you how to wear them? The guards outside will guard the room while you are undressed so do not worry about being attacked." The other servant said, her eyes still on the floor._

"_No, that's alright. I can figure it out myself. Tell your lord I'll be at the dinner tomorrow, but I might need some help with the directions." He told the servants. He didn't care about manners and being polite, he just wanted to sleep. He could deal with everything else in the morning._

"_Of course, my Lord, by your leave." They bowed on their knees and left the room. Dalj turned to Shirou and sighed. _

"_Looks like you've got your hands full. Jabra isn't as bad as the rest of the lords, but he's still a piece of work. Be on your guard." The tall man said as he too left the room. The silence that meant he was alone brought back all the drowsiness he had forgotten about earlier. He yawned loudly and felt all the fatigue he had collected in the last day or so. Throwing off the tattered clothes, he jumped onto the bed. He'd take a bath in the morning, right now he just wanted to let the sandman to his thing._

_(Present)_

Something like that had happened, it seemed. So the guards had stayed outside his room the entire night, protecting him and his riches from whatever tried to get inside. How thoughtful, but he had a feeling the lord had ordered them to guard him for another reason. Maybe to ensure he didn't run off into the night.

Regardless, he needed to get a move on. The guard had said something about washing, was there a bath somewhere? Showers hadn't been invented yet so it was maybe too much to hope for a relaxing shower.

He found it after searching the bathroom. The large bronze tub had been filled with water and different leaves floated on the surface. He could smell the herbs from several feet away, probably their substitute for soap. Deciding not to waste time, he sunk into the lukewarm water and washed himself. The mixture of sweat, blood and dirt which he had accumulated over the last couple of days was rather disgusting so a bath was perfect if he dared say so himself.

Having rested and bathed, he walked out of the bathroom feeling fresh and clean. It was a feeling he had missed since he came to this world. It had only been four days, but the extraordinary events which had occurred made him feel like it was much longer. Being found by the caravan, fighting bandits, clearing a dungeon and finding treasures far more than he could ever have imagined, it all felt overwhelming. It was like entering the Holy Grail War all over again.

He looked for a towel, but he didn't find one. How was he supposed to dry himself? Surely they must have invented towels in this world. He found it rather impossible for them to air-dry themselves. He figured they must have simply forgotten to restock his room so he used the sheets to wipe of the water that clung to his skin. He hoped they wouldn't get angry, it wasn't like he had any choice.

Picking up his clothes, he sighed at their state. The jacket was pretty much a bunch of rage held together at the seams. The pants and his shirt were likewise ruined, his blood and that of his foes having been soaked into the fabric. He wasn't going to be able to wear them any longer, not unless he wanted to be mistaken for a beggar or a homeless person. Taiga had made sure he knew how to fix clothes, probably because her own ability was substandard, but he wasn't a miracle worker. His favorite pair of clothes, next to his blue and white jersey, was ruined.

What was he going to wear now? The only things he still had that were usable were his boots, socks and underwear. Aside from that, he didn't own any clothes.

Actually, he did. The lord of the city had given him clothes the night earlier as a gift. Could he wear them? They were meant for the dinner party, but it wasn't like he couldn't wear them a little earlier, if only to make sure they fit. He had to know if he wore them correctly, after all. He couldn't wait until the last minute to put them, only to discover he had no idea how to wear them.

Opening the chest, he looked at the unfamiliar article of clothing. They were folded with obsessive care, showing not even a single crease anywhere on the fabric. Picking it up, he was surprised by the weight of the cloth. Despite the multiple layers, the shirt itself was lighter than his own. Likewise with the somewhat baggy pants and coat, they were obviously made from some high quality material, but he couldn't figure it out without Structural Analysis. It was a fabric akin to cotton, but even more comfortable. He made sure to check it for any poisons on the surface, but he didn't seem to find any. He had studied the legend of Herakles, the towering Berserker being the source of many of his nightmares and had been stunned when he discovered that he had died from a poisoned shirt given to him by his wife to prevent him from cheating on her. The thought that someone as powerful as Berserker had been taken down by his own wife being rather hard to imagine, but it had made him wary of gifts from Rin and Saber for a while, if only as a precaution.

Rin had been a little zealous in ensuring he didn't cheat on them once she found out he was rather popular among the first generation magi at Clock Tower.

Putting such thoughts aside, the clothes proved to be a challenge more difficult than he expected. He had assumed it would have been easy to put them on, but he soon realized it was not so simple. He didn't know which piece of clothing he was supposed to wear underneath and what was supposed to be on top. The shirt, pants and coat weren't at all what they appeared, appearing more complex each time he tried them on. In the end he had to divide all the articles on the bed and analyze them individually. The pants were rather easy to put on compared to the rest, considering all he had to do was insert his legs in the pants and tie the blue sash around his waist. The shirt was more difficult due to the design of it. The shirt was _obviously _meant to be worn close to the skin since it was tighter than the rest of the garments, but he still had two more pieces of cloth left. What looked like a coat that reached his thighs and a long and broad scarf were confusing him. The coat was rather straightforward, but it was too loose for it to meant to be worn that way. The scarf was likewise to large to be worn around the neck.

He really should have listened to the servants the night before. If he had then he wouldn't be struggling so much with putting on his clothes now. Deciding to throw caution to the wind, he put on the coat (Or at least he hoped it was a coat. For all intents and purposes, it could be a pajamas) and used the scarf to wrap it around his body from the shoulder to the hip and around his waist. Hopefully he didn't look like a total moron when he stepped out. He did not wish to be laughed at by the entire city, not without a reason at least.

He walked out of the room, sensing the looks he was given. Of course he knew he wasn't wearing it correctly, it wasn't like he knew how to wear clothing form a country in a world he had never known about until just a few days ago. Steeling himself, he walked towards the caravan.

Dalj had been saddling the horses when he saw him. The herd of horses the Kouga had used during their travels had increased with the addition of the horses belonging to the various bandits they had met. Though they had sold most of the bandit horses, they still had a few horses left without a rider, leaving most clansmen holding two or three horses while riding their own. It was a rather impressive sight, if not a little intimidating. Seeing a bunch or armed Kouga on their small army if horses would make anyone nervous.

Maybe not Saber though. Or Gilgamesh. Or Lancer, Berserker, Rider (as if anything which could be ridden would intimidate her), Assassin, Caster or Archer. He was pretty sure Rin was afraid of horses either and any equestrian creature trying to trample her would feel rather ill before it even neared her, courtesy of her Gandr.

Shinji would probably piss his pants, it didn't take much to scare him.

"I guess you weren't joking about leaving." Shirou said, faking a smile. He didn't want to burden Dalj with any feelings of guilt. The caravan had done enough for him in the last few days, making the leader feel guilt or shame at leaving him behind would be a poor compensation.

"I'm afraid I wasn't. If we didn't leave soon then the food we kept for the horses would run out and we'd have to buy more which defeats the purpose of coming here to make money in the first place." Dalj explained sadly.

"Do you need any money for the journey? I have quite a lot left so if you need anything, tell me now before it's too late." Shirou said. He had given the caravan a sack of gold the night before, but he still had more gold than he could spend in his room. He'd prefer it went to someone who deserved it rather than some greedy noble who wanted more riches than his neighbor. The caravan had deserved it more than he could care to remember.

"No, don't you worry about that. You gave us almost more than we could carry. We had to divide the gold up between the horses to ensure we could take it back home with us. We'll be fine, more than fine. You make sure to study and learn the language, I want you to teach the kids in the village when you come to visit us!" Dalj's enthusiastic reply came like a tsunami and Shirou's ears started ringing for a short second before it vanished. The man had a pair of lungs larger than a whale's. If Dalj ever met Berserker and had a shouting contest, Shirou would be in the next town with earplugs. Berserker would win, but the victory wouldn't come easy, not even with Mad Enhancement.

"If you're sure," Shirou conceded, the pain in his ears receding, "By the way, what happened to the horse I was riding earlier?" The pinto horse he had ridden was apparently not well-liked in this world due to the coloration. Horses with a single color were considered superior and more elegant so the pinto had been given a few odd looks. Shirou had however grown fond of the horse, probably because he couldn't' tell if the people were staring at him or the horse.

"That one, huh? We kept it in the back of the herd. We were hoping to sell it, but nobody wants to buy a pinto in this damn city. All they're talking about are the single color and I'm not selling a Kouga horse to these palefaces. Over my dead body can they have a purebred Kouga horse as their own." Dalj started ranting, but Shirou cut him off before he could get momentum. They'd be here for quite a while if Dalj found a good subject to complain about.

"Do you mind if I have it then? I'm kind of used to it by now so it would be a pain in the ass to have to buy a new horse." He asked, hoping for a positive answer.

"I don't mind giving it to you, but are you sure? After all you've done, I don't mind giving you a Kouga horse. They're the best horses in the world, a mixed breed like that one can't even compare." Dalj said, uncertain about what Shirou was asking. Not that Shirou would change his mind.

"I don't care, I prefer the pinto. I've been thinking of giving it a name, but I haven't come up with anything yet. Is there really such a difference between breeds?" Shirou knew nothing about horse other than what Dalj had told him; ponies were meant for the mines and children, light horses were for war while the draft horses pulled carriages. He also knew how to ride one due to the caravan's instructions, albeit rather poorly.

"Of course there is, haven't you been listening to what I've said? Kouga horses are trained to have high endurance and speed while the bandits simply take what they can. Pinto horses are the cheapest of the cheap so they're usually seen with bandits. If you're not careful then people will think you're up to no good." Dalj warned him, his voice being no more than a whisper by the end.

"Alright, got it. So… can I have the pinto?" Shirou repeated. Dalj simply sighed and nodded.

"You can have her, though I still think you should take up my offer and use a Kouga. We trained the pinto while you were gone, but it was only a week and we could only do so much. I hope you know what you're doing, nothing good ever comes out of riding a pinto." Dalj said unhappily. Shirou ignore his words.

Dalj walked away and came back later with a horse, the pinto he had ridden on his way into the city. To his surprise, a proper saddle had been strapped onto the horse's back.

"What's with the saddle?" Shirou asked. He thought they didn't have any extra saddles with them.

"It belonged to one of the men that died. Since you'll need it more than he will, I figured you should have it." the Kouga leader explained.

Shirou couldn't put his finger on it, but Dalj had changed after he had emerged from the dungeon. His way of speaking had been different, more respectful and less crude. He was still the boisterous character he had been before he had entered the tower, but the jokes were less vulgar and he watched what he said when Shirou was around. Ignoring the feeling he was getting, he thanked Dalj for the gift.

"Just make sure you don't wear it out too fast." Dalj answered when he expressed his gratitude.

The boat they were going to leave on gave the signal for boarding, the bell at the front being rung several times in a row. Saying farewell, Shirou saw the tribesmen enter the ship, the veritable herd entering the lower deck. He stayed behind to wave the ship as it left the harbor until it was only him and the mare left.

Finally, when the ship had disappeared into the horizon, did he stop waving. He must have looked silly, waving at what looked like nothing. He didn't feel silly though, only empty for some reason. Something had ended, an abrupt void had been opened in his chest. He soon realized why.

In the last couple of days he had to say good bye to a lot of things. His life in his home world being one of them and this being the latest. How many more times would he have to say farewell to his friends until he had ended up like Archer had, damning himself in the process? Was this the beginning of Archer's misfortune?

No it wasn't and it wouldn't be if he had something to say about it. Turning to the pinto whose reins he was holding, he made up his mind.

"Want to go and get breakfast?"

His only answer was the happy neigh the mare gave.

"I'll take that as a yes."


End file.
